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Kevin Durant Odds: Nets Favored over Warriors, Knicks, Clippers in Latest Lines
June 24, 2019
The Brooklyn Nets are the favorites to land Kevin Durant.
According to Caesars, the Nets (-125) top the Golden State Warriors (+200), New York Knicks (+500) and Los Angeles Clippers (+800) in the race to land Durant's signature.
Those odds come after Durant's former teammate, Kendrick Perkins, said last week on The Jump that the Nets are the front-runner to land the superstar forward and ESPN's Brian Windhorst also reported that the Nets believe they can sign him:
"The Nets are gaining confidence that they can pull this off," Windhorst said. "They're continuing to make moves—they've made three moves in the last week, they're right there for a second [max contract] slot."
"I think they're the front-runner," Perkins interjected.
"He is not the only person involved with the NBA who has told me exactly that," Windhorst added.
B/R's Ric Bucher, meanwhile, reported on Monday that "Durant and [Kyrie] Irving have been plotting for weeks, if not months, to continue their careers on the same team," though there are "signals that Irving is as set on playing for the Brooklyn Nets as Durant is bound for the New York Knicks."
He added that "Durant and Irving, league sources say, have met twice in recent weeks to discuss their desire to continue their careers on the same team, an idea forged while playing together on the U.S. national team."
The Nets have made themselves an appealing destination. They have a front office that rebuilt the team from the ashes of the infamous trade with the Boston Celtics—which cost them first-round picks for years—a good coach in Kenny Atkinson, a solid team that made the postseason this year built around D'Angelo Russell (a restricted free agent), Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris and all of the lifestyle amenities that Brooklyn offers.
It wouldn't be surprising, in other words, if Durant and Irving chose to team up in Brooklyn. They'd be joining a Nets team better prepared to win than the Knicks, even with Durant likely to miss all of next season as he recovers from an Achilles tear. The Warriors remain a contender to retain Durant, but the latest rumors make it easier to believe Durant is currently favoring the Nets.