Marcus Thompson on Kevin Durant with Warriors: 'I Feel Like He Is Gone'

Golden State Warriors fans should enjoy the upcoming season with Kevin Durant, because according to The Athletic's Marcus Thompson, it could be his last for the two-time defending champions.

Thompson appeared on KNBR Tuesday morning and said, "Man, KD out. I feel like he is gone. … It does have that vibe, like, 'This is it. This could be it right here.'"

Durant has a player option on his contract for next season and could become a free agent following the 2018-19 campaign.

Thompson went on to say, "Here's the hard part with KD: We don't know what he wants. I don't know that he knows what he wants. But I know the Warriors don't know fully what he wants. Is it a championship, supremacy, is it to be the ace?"

This comes after Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports appeared on FS1's Undisputed and said the "New York Knicks have a very good shot at luring KD away from the Bay Area."

Haynes added context, noting Durant's father and his business partner, Rich Kleiman—who is also based in New York—are Knicks fans. Haynes also pointed to the "allure" and "culture" of playing for the Knicks with Madison Square Garden and the Big Apple setting the stage.

Leaving the Warriors and playing for the Knicks or another team would present a new challenge for Durant after dominating the league alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Golden State won the last two championships with Durant aboard after reaching two straight Finals and winning one before he joined the franchise.

Defenses cannot focus too many defenders on Durant like they could if he was the lone star on a roster because of the shooting of Curry and Thompson and the playmaking abilities of Green. He has more space to operate as a result, and he captured the last two NBA Finals MVP trophies.

It would be impossible to call Durant's time with the Warriors anything but a success on the court even if he did leave. It's also not difficult to envision the team three-peating this season, especially if the newly signed DeMarcus Cousins is back to full strength when he returns from an Achilles injury.

For now, the Warriors have the league's most loaded roster with Durant on board, but he may not be in the Bay Area for long.