NBA news: Rockets to make a ‘serious run’ for Kevin Durant in free agency

The Houston Rockets have reportedly joined the race to land Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant in this summer’s free agency.

A reunion of former OKC teammates could happen in Houston as the Rockets are rumoured to make a “serious run” for Durant once the free agent market opens in July. According to ESPN’s Calvin Watkins and Marc Stein, who cited their sources, the Rockets believe they have a legitimate chance to land Durant in the summer because of KD’s close relationship with James Harden.

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“The Rockets’ grand plan, sources said this week, remains making an all-out pursuit in free agency this summer for Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant,” the report stated.

USA Today’s Sam Amick also mentioned in his report that the Rockets are in the mix for the Durant sweepstake if the team’s All-Star centre Dwight Howard decides to decline his player option for the next season. According to Amick, the Rockets would “clearly prefer” to get a more reasonable deal than give Howard a max contract the moment the latter explores free agency.

“They [Rockets] are slated to have approximately $45.5 million in salary cap space, meaning something has to give if there’s any hope of a Harden-Howard-Durant union in the works,” Amick wrote.

The Durant-to-Rockets chatter may excite Houston fans, but Tim Kawakami of San Jose Mercury News believes the Golden State Warriors are still the first in line if Durant starts to think about playing for another team.

The Warriors have every intention of being first in line for Durant, if he decides to weigh his options...

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) February 2, 2016

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports also revealed that the defending champions are the frontrunners to sign the two-time scoring champion in the event that he leaves Oklahoma. Wojnarowski claimed that 27-year-old Durant is determined to be an “immediate championship contender,” which brings KD back to Golden State, who arguably have the ability to remain at the top of the league for a long time.

Durant obviously has plenty of choices to choose from if he leaves the Thunder this summer. The Rockets are an intriguing option for the “Slim Reaper,” but joining the Warriors would almost guarantee Durant an instant opportunity for a championship ring.