Getty Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant to the Los Angeles Lakers has been talk for the last couple of months.
Durant, a two-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, is highly considering joining the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2019 , I was told by a league source in September.
The Lakers will enter the 2019 free agency period with a ton of roster spots to fill.
“Something I don’t think anybody around NBA is giving enough credence to, KD is now on the same track as LeBron James business wise,” ESPN’s Senior NBA writer, Ramona Shelburne told Jorge Sedano today on 710 AM ESPN Radio.
“He has a lot of relationships in Silicon Valley , 35 Media, Youtube station, deal with ESPN etc.”
Durant signed a two-year, $61.5 million contract with the Warriors and has the option to opt out ahead of the 2019-20 season, per Spotrac.
“LeBron is here for a lot of the same reasons,” said Shelburne. “This is a LA operation. If you want to expand into entertainment, this is where you do it. You don’t necessarily go to New York.”
James’ decision to join the Lakers this offseason wasn’t a surprise and it is expected that the Lakers will try to add another superstar to play alongside him. James signed a four-year, $153-plus million deal with the Lakers, via Spotrac, which features a player option for the 2021-22 season.
If Durant were to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers next offseason, it would leave them a minimum of two years to play together.
“I thought he was leaving Oklahoma and he ended up leaving Oklahoma,” said Shelburne.
“I think he’s leaving Golden State, I don’t know though. I have the same feeling this time because its in the wind, a lot of it is just gossip. I learned enough about Kevin Durant over the years that this guy is very thoughtful, it (his decision) will not be made just on a whim, its going to be very deep for him, but we wont know what the deep part is going to be until the last minute.”