NBA News: Kevin Durant Is Not Closing Any Doors On Free Agency Possibilities

Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant is scheduled to headline the free agent class of 2016 and is destined to command suitors reminiscent of 2010 when LeBron James was able to choose his destiny. The current league Most Valuable Player, or MVP, recently stated that he would like to play for one team his whole career emulating the likes of current players Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite the recent pronouncement, the 26-year-old scoring champion did not shut the door on the possibility of donning a different jersey in the future. In his latest interview, he admitted that he did not know what the future holds but still expressed his love for the city and his current team.

"Kobe [Bryant], Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki type. That's awesome," Durant told Revolt TV in a recent interview. "But you never know what the future holds sometimes and how teams may feel about you after a while, but I love it here and I would love to get my jersey retired here."

The statement is an improvement of a cryptic response to a free agency question he answered way back in the summer of 2014 when he told reporters that he wants to be wanted and saying that he could never close the door on anything given that what drives him is the goal to secure a championship in his career. This was also echoed during a Team USA appearance when he re-iterated his desire to compete for a championship year in and out, a feeling he asserts that “nothing can beat.”

To be fair to the Thunder, the team’s management has been creative after the widely criticized trade of shooting guard James Harden to the Houston Rockets. Harden has seen blossomed into the best two-guard the league has seen since Bryant and is also in the running for a tightly contested MVP race between him, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Russel Westbrook of the Thunder.

The Thunder have cushioned the impact of Harden’s loss with creative trades before the trade deadline getting young players with great upside such as Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters. On top of these, the team also still have the best chance of offering Durant the most money in the 2016 sweepstakes. With the television deal coming in and the league not going into a smoothing process of the salary cap, the team could have as much as $40 million in cap space and could offer the big chunk of that to their best player in Durant. However, as the LeBron James narrative once told a cautionary tale, nothing is ever set in stone, until the contract is signed, sealed and delivered.

For now, the Washington, DC native is currently keeping himself busy with the recovery from the recent foot surgery he underwent to repair his nagging Jones injury. Durant thanked his supporters and his well-wishers by posting his latest updates in his social media accounts.

For concerns on this story, contact the author at hidalgovincentpaul@gmail.com.