Getty Kevin Durant called out Ethan Strauss in his postgame press conference.
Kevin Durant’s free agency status has been an ongoing topic.
In September, I reported that a source shared with me KD’s intentions to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
I stand by that assessment for now.
However, that doesn’t mean that Durant won’t have suitors with familiarity at his doorstep.
Remember the name: Royal Ivey.
I discussed that on Tuesday’s episode of The Dime NBA Podcast with Josh Rodriguez.
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A Knicks assistant coach under head coach, David Fizdale, Ivey, a Harlem native is quite close to Durant. The two were Texas Longhorns teammates and teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder for three years.
KD is the godfather of Ivey’s daughter, Lyric Ella and a league source shared with me that Durant will be in Ivey’s wedding this summer.
Ivey has spent the past two seasons working as an assistant for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He had received interest from other teams as well, including the Philadelphia 76ers.
But he chose the New York Knicks. That could mean nothing or it could just be an advantage that the Knicks do have.
What a good advantage to have, too!
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.
“The Knicks are quietly, I believe, becoming attractive,” FS1’s Jason McIntyre told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
Durant is not interested in bringing up free agency right now. Did you miss his post game presser last week?
“Y’all come here every day and ask me about free agency,” Durant said.
“You ask my teammates, my coaches, you rile up the fans about it. Let us play basketball, that’s all I’m saying. And now when I don’t want to talk to y’all, that’s a problem on me. Come on, man. Grow up.”
Durant says he’s not talking about free agency and you have to hold him at his word and respect him.
That doesn’t mean writers stop writing though. The Los Angeles Lakers are an option, still.
Some believe that KD may think differently after an interview with Bleacher’s Report where KD labeled playing with LeBron James as toxic and admitted that the attention LeBron James receives isn’t his fault.
The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the 2019 free agency period with a ton of roster spots to fill.
LeBron James’ decision to join the Lakers last 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.
Re-signing with the Golden State Warriors is also an option.
“I mean, he might stay,” FS1’s Chris Broussard told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“You know, try to go for four straight, play his first year in the new arena in San Francisco. Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe, Shaq, LeBron, none of them have won four straight championships. That would be a way for Durant to separate himself from all the great players since Bill Russell, because he’s the last one to do it. I’m not saying Durant would be better than them, but that’s a heck of a thing to have on your resume, so I’m not ruling out Golden State for one more year, and when you ask people around the league, there’s a lot of talk that he’s going to New York and a lot of people think Kawhi Leonard’s gonna go to the Clippers, so that’s kind of what’s out there right now, talking to people around the league.