NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant Headed To The Toronto Raptors in 2016
It’s almost a sure thing that Oklahoma City Thunder star and former NBA MVP Kevin Durant will test free agency in the summer of 2016. There have been plenty of rumored destinations for Durant, two of which being the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards. Now a third team has come into the discussion, that team being the Toronto Raptors.
While the most likely team that Durant would jump to if he were to leave Oklahoma City in 2016 is his hometown team, the Washington Wizards, Adrian Wojnarowski, who is the most trusted source when it comes to the NBA, says that the Toronto Raptors are a dark horse contender for Durant’s services.
Wojnarowski spoke with Toronto 1050 about the current state of the Raptors roster and what moves that the team can make going forward. One of those moves included going after Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016.
“We all know what a big-time market Toronto is in and of itself, never mind having the whole country, which has become increasingly basketball crazy.”
“I wouldn’t be shocked if Masai Ujiri goes really hard at Kevin Durant in a couple of years and gets in the mix. I’m not saying they’re gonna get him but I think he’s unafraid in that way to really pursue the great player and sell them on a situation where’s there’s pieces around you, you can win here, we can chase championships, you can get all the big endorsements, all the big outside things that you want are available here.”
With the Oklahoma City Thunder ownership seemingly not wanting to spend big money on free agents, and with Oklahoma City not being a big-time free agent destination for top NBA free agents, Durant may look to jump ship to a team that is unafraid to spend money and put a great team around him. With Kyle Lowry, Demar Derozan and Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors already have plenty of great pieces to surround Durant with and are already somewhat of a contender in the eastern conference.
Furthermore, and this could very well be a minor detail, but growing up Kevin Durant wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors. Below is a quote of Durant admitting that he always thought about how great it would be to play for the Raptors when he was on the Dan Patrick Show.
“Believe it or not, I wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors, that was my favorite team. They were a new team when I was growing up, so I wanted to be a part of that.”
As of right now, Durant has to worry about pulling his struggling Oklahoma City Thunder out of a hole when he returns from his broken foot. But there’s no telling where Durant will end up in the summer of 2016.
[Image via USA Today]
