He may have just signed a new contract with the Golden State Warriors, but will Kevin Durant opt out of the final year of this two-year deal and leave the team? That’s the scenario Fox Sports Radio’s Colin Cowherd is imagining, and while some sources have taken his words and interpreted it as a sign Durant will be signing with the Los Angeles Lakers to join his friend LeBron James in the summer of 2019, Cowherd’s predictions suggest “KD” might head elsewhere next season, may it be with the Lakers or another NBA team.
According to the Express , next year’s free agent class is expected to include players such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, and Kawhi Leonard. Assuming Durant chooses to opt out of his contract next season, the Warriors forward will join those superstars as one of the NBA’s top free agents of the 2019 offseason. According to Cowherd, there’s a strong likelihood of that happening, as Durant is “like about half of America” in the sense that he’s used to dealing with change.
“Kevin Durant went to three different high schools, starred in all of them,” Cowherd explained on Thursday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd , as quoted by the Express .
“He went to four places in three-and-a-half years. He grew up in D.C, went to college in Texas, drafted by Seattle and then immediately moved to Oklahoma City.”
KD vows to keep engaging with folks on social media. https://t.co/q0AYy4KZKt
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 27, 2018
Offering his predictions for the 2018-19 season, Cowherd said that Durant might leave the Golden State Warriors after the team reaches the Finals and, as he forecasted, loses to the Boston Celtics. He suggested that the Warriors’ dynasty is “really close to the end,” and that “frays and fatigue” might take over as the team’s talented core breaks up, with Durant heading elsewhere in 2019 free agency.
While the Express and Clutch Points interpreted Cowherd’s remarks as a sign that Kevin Durant might join the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent next summer and team up with LeBron James, whose move to the Lakers he had recently praised, the Herd host did not mention any potential destination in particular nor did he expressly say Durant wants to be teammates with LeBron.
This isn’t the first time publications or NBA pundits have suggested in recent weeks that Kevin Durant could leave the Golden State Warriors and play for another team next season. Earlier this month, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said that signing Durant could be the only way the Lakers could have a chance to seize the Western Conference throne from the Warriors, as previously reported by the Inquisitr . Additionally, New York Knicks center Enes Kanter mentioned Durant as a potential free agent signing for the Knicks when he appeared on The Herd on Monday.