The Oklahoma City Thunder have a potentially defining offseason ahead of them with superstar Kevin Durant's free agency, and they're doing everything they can to keep him while exploring other options to help make them better. Here's all the latest news and rumors surrounding OKC's plans this summer:
Thunder not worried about losing Kevin Durant
Durant's free agency has been the hottest topic in the NBA for the past year, but he may not be going anywhere. Despite being linked to teams like the Lakers, Spurs and Warriors, the Thunder don't seem to be worried about him going anywhere.
Via CBS Sports:
Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti still doesn’t sound scared about Kevin Durant’s free agency. Presti said at the end of the Thunder’s season that he was excited about talking to Durant about the future of the team, and he did not deviate from that in an interview with Ken Berger and Jody McDonald on CBS Sports Radio’s Eye On Basketball show. “I have no insight into what Kevin’s decision ultimately will be, and I can’t speak to what the actual process might be — that’s for him and his representation to determine,” Presti said. “Obviously we’ll be taking part in it and taking our cues there. But as I said earlier, I think for us it’s an opportunity to be pretty excited about, quite frankly, to really get excited about and lean into because we have the opportunity to sit down with not only a player but a person that has really defined the Thunder, and I would say Oklahoma City for that matter as well, for the better part of a decade. And at the same time, it’s also someone that we know and that knows us and that we communicate with over a long period of time.
“It’s a chance to reflect on that relationship and then, I think, really get excited about what could be an incredibly bright future together,” Presti continued. “I’d like to think that we’ve been preparing for these types of things and for this particular occasion for the nine years that we’ve been together.”
Durant is expected to sign a two-year deal (with a player option for the second year) with the Thunder this offseason to maximize his earning potential when the salary cap goes up again next season. Assuming his declines his second-year option to make that happen, both him and Russell Westbrook will be unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2017.
Oklahoma City parting with McGary?
The Thunder picked Mitch McGary with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, but his time with the team may be over before it even really started. Injuries and an inability to crack the rotation have limited him to just 52 games over the last two years, which has created plenty of speculation about his future.
Via the Oklahoman:
McGary plans to be with the Thunder at Orlando Summer League in two weeks, but cryptically said “it’s not really my call.” He spoke like a man who wants to stay in OKC, but who’s also acutely aware that his opportunity could be in another city. “I couldn’t imagine playing for another team. This is the team that drafted me,” McGary said. “Like I said, I’m loyal, but I just want to play ball. That’s it.”
McGary averaged 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per game last season.
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