Kevin Durant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Temple, Labissiere, Crawford

March 5th, 2017 at 7:10pm CST by Austin Kent

For the first time since his January injury, Kings veteran Garrett Temple went full speed in practice. The 30-year-old has been cautious with the injury, Jonathan Santiago of Kings.com writes, but finally found himself comfortable enough to return to the court.

“I’ve been out longer than I guess expected just because I know that I wanted to make sure that I got it all the way right,” Temple said this week before suiting up for the Kings in Sunday’s contest. “The setback I had last time was during the first day of practice. So after I got through my first day of practice yesterday without any other effects – a nice long two-hour practice – it helped my confidence.”

In 49 contests for the Kings this season, Temple had posted 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Thrust into a larger role ever since the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento big man Skal Labissiere has run with the opportunity. Shahbaz Khan of Kings.com spoke with the rookie about his experience during the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Though he’ll turn 37 years old this week, Clippers guard Jamal Crawford would like to play three or four more seasons, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports. Crawford is averaging 12.3 points per game in his 17th season.
The Warriors will need to re-adapt to life without Kevin Durant but Zaza Pachulia has made an effort to come to terms with it, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “If I did something on purpose or even if I had flopped, that probably would have made me feel worse,” Pachulia said, “But it wasn’t even a flop. I got pulled. I fell. Nobody had control over it.“
The lawyer of Matt Barnes requested a court date that doesn’t coincide with the NBA Finals, Rebecca Rosenberg of the New York Post writes. Barnes recently signed with the reigning two-time Western Conference champion Warriors.
The return of Chris Paul has thrown the Clippers bench into disarray, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. With Paul back in the starting five, Austin Rivers has had to slide back into the second unit. “Things like this happen,” backup center Marreese Speights said, “But we still got time to get it right before the playoffs. We’ll be all right.”

Kevin Durant To Be Re-Evaluated In Four Weeks

March 1st, 2017 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

9:02am: Durant has suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain and a tibial bone bruise, the Warriors announced today (via Twitter). According to the team’s announcement, the veteran forward will be sidelined indefinitely and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. While there’s no timetable for Durant’s return, the club says he could play again before the end of the regular season.

7:56am: The Warriors are hopeful that the knee injury Kevin Durant suffered on Tuesday night will not be season-ending, according to Mike Wise of The Undefeated (Twitter link). However, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports, Golden State is bracing for the possibility that Durant may be sidelined for the rest of the regular season, or even longer.

Durant, who was initially diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, underwent an MRI on Tuesday night to assess the extend of his injury, per Wojnarowski. Doctors are evaluating the results of that test, and the Warriors are expected to make a formal announcement on Durant’s status later on Wednesday.

As Wojnarowski details, there are some team officials and members of Durant’s camp who fear that the injury will prevent the star forward from returning to the Warriors’ lineup before the playoffs begin in April. Some sources close to Durant are worried that the injury could keep him out of action for longer than that, sources tell Wojnarowski.

With their top scorer likely to miss extended time, the Warriors have reached an agreement to sign Matt Barnes. The former King will help provide depth at both forward positions in Durant’s absence, but Golden State will have to rely on its other All-Stars like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to help shoulder more of the scoring load with Durant on the shelf.

The Warriors’ interior players will face added pressure during Durant’s absence as well, since the 28-year-old had been arguably been the team’s best rim protector this season, averaging a team-high 1.6 blocks per contest.

Durant Discusses Why He Didn’t Join The Wizards

February 27th, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Durant didn’t consider the Wizards when he was a free agent in part because he accomplished everything he set out to do in the D.C. Metro area, Tim Bontemps and Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post relay.

“I don’t want to open up anything in the past, but I really just didn’t want to play at home,” Durant said. “It was nothing about the fans. Being at home, I was so happy with that part of my life — playing at home, being in front of friends, hanging with friends and family every day. That was a part of my life that has come and gone.

“I was like, I’m trying to build a second part of my life as a man living in a different part of the country, just trying to do different things. I did everything I was supposed to do in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, I felt. Now it’s time to do something new. I didn’t want to come back. That’s just my thought process behind it. It had nothing to do with basketball, the fans, the city.”

Landing Durant was always a pipedream for the Wizards. Washington did not get a meeting with him in free agency while it watched six other franchises court the small forward.

Durant added that his mother was a major influence on his decision not to come back home. “No disrespect to anybody back at home, but my mom, she wanted me to see the world. She wanted me to see a different part of the country, and she didn’t want it to be a quick flight, either. She didn’t want anybody to be able to just get ahold of me,” Durant said.

Over the course of his career, the 8-time All-Star routinely made visits to his home state of Maryland during his offseasons. It was rewarding to come home and help out the community, but it came with challenges.

“With any athlete, when they’re playing in their hometown, there are advantages and disadvantages,” said Stu Vetter, Durant’s former high school coach. “The disadvantage is, everyone becomes a very good friend very quickly. Your time is in great demand. Your resources are in great demand. And everyone wants a favor.”

Durant visits his home community less frequently now than he did earlier in his career, but the area remains close to his heart. He’s a huge Redskins fan, who believes the team should re-sign Kirk Cousins (you can check out the latest on Cousins and Washington at Pro Football Rumors). Durant considered coming back home after learning about LeBron James‘ decision to return to his home state in 2014 but quickly decided that his own situation was not parallel to LBJ’s.

“I thought about what it might be like,” Durant said. “I thought about it. But it made LeBron’s situation different because he got drafted there. So it was like he was home already, so he knew what it was like. It wasn’t like it was his first time going back. For me, I never played at home. I didn’t know what it would be. I know every time I go back it’s pretty hectic, and I just wanted to focus on basketball and not have to worry about a lot of stuff that comes with being at home.”

“It’s always good going back, but I would rather play in a different city.”

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Durant, Kings

February 25th, 2017 at 7:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Warriors don’t anticipate adding a big man via the buyout market, Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group passes along via Twitter. Coach Steve Kerr said he likes how the current roster is constructed and doesn’t want to end up having too many frontcourt players on the team.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kevin Durant wants to be a GM or an owner of an NBA team once his playing career is over, Slater relays in a full-length piece. “ [I] Want to be a GM, want to own a team, hopefully own a team and run it,” Durant said. “So I look to see what rumors are getting out there, what deals are being presented to these teams. Try to figure that stuff out. It’s fun, especially for a guy who knows that part of the business.” Durant added that he regularly talks front office strategy with Kerr and Warriors GM Bob Myers.
Garrett Temple injured his hamstring earlier in the month, but he’s progressing and he hopes to be back on the floor for the Kings in a week or two, Sean Cunningham of ABC10 tweets.
The Kings have a history of trading away their All-Star players, Jon Schultz of the Sacramento Bee writes. The team has had six All-Stars since moving to Sacramento in 1985 and with the exception of Vlade Divac, all of the players were sent elsewhere via trade.

Community Shootaround: Durant Returns To OKC

February 11th, 2017 at 12:27pm CST by Austin Kent

It’s been seven months since Kevin Durant decided to leave the only franchise he ever knew to sign with the Warriors and today the eight-time All-Star will make his much-anticipated return to Oklahoma City. Sure, for nine seasons Durant helped put the Thunder on the map, but don’t expect his reception at the Chesapeake Energy Arena to be anything less than hostile.

On one hand, Durant treated the franchise that drafted him with relatively unprecedented respect, on the other, well… sports fan logic. As Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets, Durant didn’t force a trade out of Oklahoma City and he didn’t put up a stir mid-season and distract the Thunder from their 2015/16 campaign. He waited dutifully until the offseason before making a decision well within his rights as a player.

Still, though his decision is certainly defensible, it didn’t win over very many fans outside of the Bay Area. Shortly after Durant’s personal essay detailing his thought process regarding the move to Oakland was published, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN tweeted a sentiment to which skeptical fans could relate. Smith called Durant’s decision a “weak move”, lambasting the superstar for opting to sign with the team that just rallied to eliminate the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.

Needless to say, when Durant takes the floor for the Warriors this evening, emotions will be at an all-time high. Earlier this morning Howard Beck of Bleacher Report tweeted that the ugliest sports scene he ever witnessed first-hand was LeBron James‘ first game back in Cleveland after signing with the Heat in the summer of 2010.

How do you think Durant’s return to Oklahoma City will go? Do fans have the right to boo an ex-star that did so much for the franchise? If so, how far is too far when fans react negatively?

Weigh in below!

Pacific Notes: Green, West, Randle

February 7th, 2017 at 6:57pm CST by Austin Kent

Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Draymond Green were once again seen in a verbal altercation Saturday night. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, it was all part of a master plan by Green.

“Nothing in general” led to the altercation, the Warriors forward said Tuesday. “It was actually a tactic. But that’s for us to know and for everyone else to figure out.”

Green, Hayes writes, was trying to use reverse psychology to motivate his struggling teammate and supposedly followed it up by winking and smiling at some of the Warriors coaching staff.

Earlier this month Green and Durant were seen arguing with one another on the court when the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies.

Despite their interesting relationship, Green and Durant are said to have watched the Super Bowl together the day after the incident, suggesting that the altercation caused no hard feelings. With a 43-8 record, the Warriors have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to locker room chemistry.

There are more headlines out of the Pacific Division today:

The Warriors may need to compete with the Lakers if they want to convince 78-year-old executive Jerry West to stay with the team after his contract expires in July, writes Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
Veteran forward P.J. Tucker knows how to get the most out of his younger teammates and his tough-love approach has been put in effect with current Suns rookies Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender, writes Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.
The Lakers handed out significant contracts to veterans Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng over the offseason but lately the tandem has been coming off the bench, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “I’m not going to say it’s permanent, but we’re going to see how it goes,” head coach Luke Walton said, citing the need to develop young players as the reason for the decision.
Limited to just five minutes over the previous four games, Julius Randle has recovered from pneumonia and and returned to the lineup for the Lakers on Monday. The power forward is expected to be at full strength heading forward, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
There are plenty of assets on the Suns roster, writes Kevin O’Conner of the Ringer. The scribe breaks down what could be next for Phoenix, including franchise cornerstone Devin Booker and “good-but-not-great” point guard Eric Bledsoe.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Lakers, Durant

January 31st, 2017 at 9:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns haven’t experienced much success this season, but Devin Booker believes the team’s future is bright, as he tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

“We have a really good young core,” Booker said. “Our young players are developing, including myself, very well. Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis have been getting some time now. And then we have a mix of really good veterans, Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Leandro Barbosa, P.J. Tucker; they’re leading us on the right way. Each and every day, they push us every day in practice. They’re patient with us. We’re messing up a lot. That’s what you expect coming into this league, playing against grown men. We’re still learning, but at the same time, I think the future is really bright here.”

Phoenix has a record of 15-33 and currently sits in the second spot in our Reserve Standings. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders examines the trade market for Lou Williams and Nick Young, and finds it difficult to envision the Lakers netting a first-round pick for either of the veterans. Pincus believes Los Angeles could flip one of them for a young player with untapped potential akin to the team’s 2014 Steve Blake trade. In that deal, the Lakers brought in Kent Bazemore, a player who flashed promise once he was given meaningful minutes.
The Lakers may need to move Williams and Young in order to open up the cap space necessary to sign a max-level player, such as Blake Griffin, Pincus writes in the same piece. Young holds a player option for next season worth slightly under $5.7MM and Williams will make $7MM next season in the final year of his deal.
Kevin Durant told Stephen Curry to stop trying so hard to incorporate him in the Warriors‘ offense, as Chris Haynes of ESPN.com relays. “I just said to [Curry], ‘Don’t worry about me,'” Durant told Haynes. “I’ll figure it out around you. You’re the engine of this team, and I know that. I’m not trying to come over and feel like everything just revolves around me. Just do you, man. I’m going to play around you. I’ve played this game long enough. I know how to score. I know how to find the ball. Just go out there and play your game.’ And that’s what he’s been doing.”

Kevin Durant Discusses Future With Warriors

January 19th, 2017 at 8:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Durant shocked the basketball world when he left Russell Westbrook and the Thunder to join the Warriors during the offeason. The 2013/14 MVP signed a two-year, $54.3MM pact, but his contract contains a player option for the second season. He may decide to decline that option, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to leave Golden State, as he tells Sam Amick of USA Today.

“I’m liking it here,” Durant said. “I’m liking everything that’s going on. I know what my contract says, but I didn’t plan on coming here for just a year. I’m in it right now, and I’m also just focusing on day by day.

“I know it’s cliché, and you hear that all the time, but I’m seriously just not thinking about it because I’m like – I’m just in it for the long haul.”

Earlier in the week, owner Joe Lacob said he expects Durant to sign with the team long-term. “I have no angst whatsoever [about re-signing Durant and Stephen Curry],” Lacob said. “I totally am positive [that] I think those guys are going to sign. They’re both free agents. They have a right to do whatever they want. They’ve earned it, and I respect that. If they don’t sign with us for some reason, then shame on me and us. I take responsibility for that. But I don’t see that happening.”

Durant can benefit financially if he declines his player option and hits the market this summer. He would be eligible to receive 35% of the salary cap as his starting salary in a new deal, meaning if he signs a four-year deal, he could make over $150MM.

Durant is enjoying a fantastic first season in the Bay Area. He’s scoring 26.2 points and grabbing a career-high 8.7 rebounds per game. He’s hitting a career-best 54.5% of his shots from the field and he’s only coughing up 2.3 turnovers per game, which is also the best mark of his career.

Westbrook Tops Snub List Among All-Star Starters

January 19th, 2017 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Triple-double machine Russell Westbrook, the league’s leading scorer, will not be among the Western Conference starters for next month’s All-Star Game in New Orleans. The league’s Twitter feed unveiled the starters for each conference, and the Thunder superstar lost out in the balloting to Stephen Curry and James Harden (Twitter links).

As ESPN.com’s Rachel Nichols points out, the fan voting counts for 50%, while the players’ votes weigh in at 25%, as does the media vote under the revised system. According to NBC’s Kurt Helin, Westbrook missed out because the fans had him third among Western Conference guards behind Curry and Harden.

Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant will comprise the starting frontcourt for the West.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler and LeBron James were selected as the frontcourt starters for the Eastern Conference. DeMar DeRozan and Kyrie Irving were chosen as the starting backcourt.

It’s a breakthrough for Antetokounmpo, who will be making his first All-Star appearance. Arguably the biggest snub on the Eastern Conference side was Celtics point man Isaiah Thomas, the fourth-leading scorer in the league and the conference’s top scorer.

Do you think Westbrook should have garnered a starting spot ahead of Curry or Harden? Besides Westbrook, which other player has the biggest beef about failing to land a starting spot in the league’s annual showcase event? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts.

Lacob Has ‘Every Expectation’ Durant Will Re-Sign

January 17th, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Austin Kent

While they may not be chasing history as they were last year, all signs point to the Warriors being as scary a team as ever now with Kevin Durant in the mix. Speaking today at the groundbreaking of the franchise’s new arena in San Francisco, team owner Joe Lacob mentioned to Marc Spears of The Undefeated that he has “every expectation” that their recently acquired superstar will re-sign with the team long-term.

Last summer, Durant opted to leave the Thunder to join Stephen Curry and the 2015 NBA champions, but the contract he signed for $26.5MM in 2016/17 has a player option for the 2017/18 campaign. Given the rising salary cap, Durant is in line to make more money if he opts out and signs a new contract. In fact, eligible to receive as much as 35% of the cap because he’ll be a 10-year veteran, Durant could sign a four-year deal, worth over $150MM.

Asked directly if he had any news to share with the team owners regarding his pending free agency, Durant simply said, “it will be fun playing [in the new Chase Center],” reports Anthony Slater of the Mercury News.

In 41 games for the Warriors, Durant has averaged 25.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and the Warriors currently pace the Western Conference with a 35-6 record. That considered, while much can change between now and the summer, there’s no obvious basketball reason for the two parties to part ways.