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NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant Reportedly ‘Blown Away’ By Pitch From Los Angeles Clippers, Moving Them To Top Of The Pack

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 14:33 PST, Jul 1, 2016

The NBA rumors could be pointing to an unlikely destination for Kevin Durant — the Los Angeles Clippers.

Durant just started what is likely to be the most-anticipated free agent decision since LeBron James decided to leave the Miami Heat and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Durant had opted out of his contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder and made plans to meet with a number of teams starting Friday, the first day of free agency.

There have been a handful of teams rumored to be major players for Kevin Durant, but until Friday, the Los Angeles Clippers were not among them. But that seems to have changed drastically, with the Clippers making a pitch that reportedly has made a big impression on the big man.

As ESPN reported, the team met with Durant on Friday night and pulled out all the stops to win him over.

“Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, president Doc Rivers, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were present at the meeting.

“According to a source, Durant was incredibly impressed by the vision and direction of the Clippers and made a strong connection with those at the meeting.”

The NBA rumors surrounding Kevin Durant came on a day full of free agent surprises, and he wouldn’t be the first one to pick an unlikely new team. Earlier on Friday, Dwight Howard unexpectedly cut short his own free agency bonanza to sign a three-year, $70.5 million deal with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Howard had a number of other visits planned throughout the weekend and the Hawks weren’t seen as one of the top contenders, but the deal was too good for Howard to turn down.

“It was a really, really, really good meeting,” a source told ESPN about Howard’s visit with Atlanta. “Very impressive. Dwight’s going to look at all his options. But it went very, very well.”

Earlier in the week, some NBA insiders said league executives were going to balk at the roughly $24 million that Howard had been seeking, with one report saying they thought he was more likely to get in the $15 million range.

Despite the positive meeting and the rumors that Durant was “blown away” by the Clippers, it would still be a surprise to see him pick Los Angeles. Durant has long said that he wants to go to a team with the best chance of delivering him what would be his first NBA title, and there are at least a handful of contenders that would top the Clippers.

Durant is rumored to be the top target of the Golden State Warriors, with sources saying that the team has been planning for several years to land the Thunder star. The San Antonio Spurs are also said to be highly interested, and could make Durant part of a new core of players that includes Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.

But the NBA rumors are pointing most heavily toward a return to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Kevin Durant. The team was at the doorstep of the NBA Finals this year before blowing a three games to one lead against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, and the Thunder are likely to be a strong contender for 2017 without the need to make major changes.

There are even rumors that Kevin Durant has essentially made up his mind to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder and may be using his NBA free agency rounds to get the best deal out of his team. While that may be true, this NBA free agency season has proven that anything can happen.

[Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Images]

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