Kevin Durant Would Want to Return to Warriors Even If They'd Lost to Rockets

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but fans of the defending champions can take solace knowing he plans on staying put.

"Yeah, yeah," he said when asked if he would come back to the Warriors, per Sam Amick of USA Today. "I feel as though (I am). Everything, the money and stuff that's got to, the contract got to (be) worked out, but I plan on being here. I said that earlier this year. I didn't plan on anything else. But this is the NBA, and anything can happen. And I know that anything can happen, (because) I've been a part of this league for so long now."

Durant, who is planning to decline is 2018-19 player option, per ESPN.com's Chris Haynes, also clarified that his mindset wouldn't have changed much had the Warriors not overcome a 3-2 deficit against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals.

"No, nothing would have changed. I feel like, like I said, the only thing that would've changed is the fact that it would have opened up – I mean, this (Finals series) isn't even over right now, so if something goes wrong it would be the same thing. I don't think anything would change other than people look at it as a perfect opportunity to do what they want to do, which is put me down. That's the only thing I felt like would've been different from last year."

While Durant pointed to the financial aspect of his impending contract decision, there isn't an obvious basketball reason for him to leave Golden State.

He won the first championship of his career last year—winning NBA Finals MVP in a five-game victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers—and entered Wednesday's Game 3 a mere two victories away from winning back-to-back titles.

The presence of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green around Durant makes it almost impossible for opposing defenses to focus on stopping just one of the All-Stars and creates plenty of space for them to dominate extended stretches of games.

There is one thing that would significantly shift the financial situation for the Warriors this offseason, though. As Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports noted, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said on First Take that LeBron James would have a conversation with Golden State regarding his own impending free agency this offseason.

While adding James to the Warriors would be an embarrassment of riches and likely require sacrifices elsewhere on the roster, Golden State can at least feel secure Durant wants to return given his latest comments.