Kevin Durant Comments on Return to Washington, 2016 Free Agency and More
Kevin Durant knows an onslaught of support is coming when he arrives in Washington, D.C., for Tuesday night's game against the Wizards. That doesn't mean he enjoys it.
The Thunder forward and D.C. native was dismissive of the pomp and circumstance regarding his upcoming free agency following Oklahoma City's 124-103 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, per Sam Amick of USA Today:
"Free agency is like a season now, and it shouldn't be that big. Me, I feel, is you should focus on who you have on your team. It's easy to get your hopes up and expect a guy to come to your team or whatever — and I'm not talking about myself, I'm just talking about free agency in the past years and in the future — you get your hopes up as a fan, and then they let you down and you end up not liking the player. There's a little bit too much emphasis on that type of stuff, but it's part of the game.
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Durant pointed specifically to last season's trip to Washington as a "disrespectful" experience. Wizards fans, who desperately want their native son back in the nation's capital, were seen in customized Durant jerseys, and their arena was littered with wistful signs beckoning him back home. The Wizards even got into the act by featuring a Photoshopped Durant jersey on their Jumbotron.
"(The Jan. 21 visit) was kind of disrespectful, in my opinion, because you've got a great team there already that deserves your full 100 percent support," Durant said, per Amick. "I wouldn't like that if I was on that team. I didn't like that, but it comes with it nowadays."
Tuesday night's game will be the only time Durant makes a trip to Washington this season barring an NBA Finals matchup. The former MVP will be the most sought-after free agent in basketball this summer, where he's expected to command a maximum contract that could be in excess of $200 million.
"I just try to go about every day, just focus on one day," Durant said, per Royce Young of ESPN.com. "I don't think about the future too hard. I'll worry about that stuff when I get there. I've been saying 'I don't know' for a long, long time, but I'm really just focused on our team, happy I'm playing again, and that kind of takes over."
The Wizards are seen as a natural fit because of Durant's hometown ties, the team's desperate need for a small forward and the presence of a promising young core led by guards John Wall and Bradley Beal. More than half of the NBA is expected to have maximum cap room—or have enough space to feasibly get to max-level room—when Durant hits the open market this summer.
"Yeah, I'm really not good with attention," he said, per Amick. "I really don't like all this stuff to be centered around me, but I know it comes with it, that it's a part of it. But I'm still getting used to it. I've learned to embrace it a little bit, but it's still a little awkward for me."
There are a couple of factors to keep in mind. One, of course, being Durant is still working his way back from the serious foot injury that nearly cost him the entire 2014-15 season. He's averaging 30.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, so performance is not an issue. But it only takes one bad step to put everything back at square one.
The other underrated factor here is that it may make more sense for Durant to sign a short-term deal in Oklahoma City this summer and hit "real" free agency in 2017.
The cap is expected to hit $108 million for 2017-18, meaning he can make tens of millions more by biding his time for an extra year. That would also allow him to link his free agency with Russell Westbrook's and make a more informed decision on how the Billy Donovan era will play out.
Don't expect any of that to alter the hype, though.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
