Why would durant come here?

[Stig]

It seems to me like his most likely suiters are still OKC unless he decides to join forces with San Antonio or GS is what I'm saying.  Boston and LA are two markets on the outside looking in even still.

The media likes to run with this stuff when a lot of the time it's a non story.  It's good ratings for web sites and added clicks for advertising.

Yes he's a free agent but I feel like the actual story here is much smaller than it seems.

I totally agree, it's just like the Wizards once thought KD is definitely going there.

OKC got a very good coach themselves, he should stay for at least another year.

[footey]

Why would he leave that situation?  He plays alongside another all NBA player in his prime. The City loves them. They may very well beat the Spurs and, who knows, have a shot beating GSW.  I think coming to Boston, or any other Eastern Conference team, other than Cleveland (and he isn't going there), would be a huge step backwards, not forwards. I just don't see him leaving.

Time for us to stop fantasizing about bringing him here.  On to Plan B.

[Celtics4ever]

I think a lot of these guys use us for bargaining power.   They have no intention of coming here.  I wish I was wrong on that.   

[Greyman]

This theme is prominent in a number of threads. I am guessing that if the Spurs could win the next two games, there may be a glimmer of hope.

If a conversation has been started though and he has shown interest, you don't walk away until he says 'no'. Does this become a double edged sword though where if you continue to chase and miss, the next cab of the rank says 'If its not good enough for KD, why would I go there?'

Maybe I read too much into these things.

[Androslav]

Why would he leave that situation?  He plays alongside another all NBA player in his prime. The City loves them. They may very well beat the Spurs and, who knows, have a shot beating GSW.  I think coming to Boston, or any other Eastern Conference team, other than Cleveland (and he isn't going there), would be a huge step backwards, not forwards. I just don't see him leaving.

Time for us to stop fantasizing about bringing him here.  On to Plan B.

We are basically fantasizing all the time here
When you dream, dream big.

OKC is a strong team, no doubt stronger than Celts. but for the sake of the argument let's remember last year. OKC without Durant isn't a playoff team in a competitive western conference.
Celts without Durant are. If they really beat the Spurs, our chances become even slimmer.
Even more so since he seems like a loyal guy.
We can never know what the will future bring, we just have to be ready for the opportunity.

[Vermont Green]

How many posts have there been along the lines of "I would trade xyz for Butler if it meant getting Durant".  Or, we should overpay for Horford to get Durant.  Just not realistic I don't think.

I will be very surprised if Durant leaves OKC and in the slim chance something does go wrong there and he does leave, the Celtics would be nothing more than unlikely to get him.

Combine the slim odds he leaves with the unlikely odds that he would pick the Celtics and the resulting probability that he ends up in Boston next season is probably 1000 to 1.

I think we need a Plan B.

[pearljammer10]

OKC gets beat by the Spurs I see his chances of leaving a bit better than staying. I ultimately think he stays in OKC but if he goes elsewhere Boston is as good of a destination as anyone else is.

Right now I feel that Durant has kind of been placed on the second fiddle back burner to Westbrook. Coming to Boston allows him to be the 100% alpha and get back into the MVP conversation next year. This team is set up for a number one superstar like Durant to come in and take over, letting all our other above average role players continue to play their roles at that above average rate.

Great coach that would fit Durant's style perfectly, no Westbrook to defer to, a team filled of junkyard dog workhorses that would make Durant's job much easier, and an easier path towards the finals.

He'd be crazy not to think about it.

[acieEarl]

I gotta agree. I can't see Durant leave OKC. I was hoping after game 1 that the Spurs would sweep and that may give him a reason to leave.

I'm thinking plan B might be saving money for Westbrook next year. Westbrook is a beast and is the best player on the team, top 3-5 player in the league.

[crimson_stallion]

It's unlikely, and it has always been unlikely.

It's not impossible - there is the slightest glimmer of hope.  But it's still unlikely.  For the sake of our own sanity, we should really give up on even DREAMING of getting Durant here and focus on our plan B's. 

Danny will obviously talk to the man and try to swing as much as he can, but you can't control a player's free will...and if he sees greener pastures elsewhere, that's where he'll probably go.

This is why I've long moved on to guys like Butler, Dwight, Cousins, etc.  Still guys we probably won't get, but at least there's a realistically decent chance. 

[nickagneta]

I, like most good, realistic and knowledgeable Celticsbloggers, have always felt that the chances of landing Durant in Boston are pretty remote. No let me correct that, extremely remote. Durant is in an excellent situation in OKC playing alongside Westbrook. Their incredible talents have been held back by poor coaching, IMHO. Maybe this year they overcome that. If they do his chances of leaving are 0%.

But even if they fail this year, that OKC team is just some better coaching by Donovan and an excellent role playing 3rd/4th option player away from being in the same atmosphere as GSW. It will be better for Durant to sign his 5 year deal in OKC(something he can't get elsewhere) and let the management team find that one player to add rather than Durant going to a team like Boston where Ainge would need to do more substantial work to get Boston to the same area OKC is already in.

I am not hopeful in any way shape or form of Durant coming here. I hope Ainge trades for some star talent and/or leaves his options open for the 2017 free agency period.

[rollie mass]

legacy thats why he should come here-the superstar celtics,  that continue to come together, that rise in the league from coaches GMs announcers and all thiose banners  and hall of famers over 50 yrs of history-KG will be a legend for his NBA championship here-pierce will be back
he is a celtic and this is where  history is made-ask lebron,ask jordon,ask magic,ask kobe-and watch todays celtics scrap-the celtics play basketball-to be forever linked to celtics past history and to win another championship
-danny ainge was a scrapper,a winner and will do whatever it takes to get back to a championship  ask isaiah, ask us fans when he broke up team for a now nets picks at lottery,or next time you watch crowder-dannys pursuit is a championshi pwith brad coaching-common durant  lets play some east coast basketbal the kind where you shovel the snow off courts to playl
-okc you lose again the world will forget you-the celtics stand for alot more than almost
 or one they are  a dynasty to-win one in okc is nothing just momentary
 in boston you get woven into 50yrs and compared to the best of the best in basketball -like bill russel cousy,dave cowens,havichck,bird,mchale,pierce and garnett -just look up

[Endless Paradise]

Why would he leave that situation?  He plays alongside another all NBA player in his prime. The City loves them. They may very well beat the Spurs and, who knows, have a shot beating GSW.  I think coming to Boston, or any other Eastern Conference team, other than Cleveland (and he isn't going there), would be a huge step backwards, not forwards. I just don't see him leaving.

Time for us to stop fantasizing about bringing him here.  On to Plan B.

but for the sake of the argument let's remember last year. OKC without Durant, Westbrook for 15 games, Ibaka for 18 games, Reggie Jackson for the first few weeks, and a whole litany of other players who were injured for extended time isn't a playoff team on the basis of a tiebreaker in a competitive western conference.

Fixed.

[jpotter33]

I, like most good, realistic and knowledgeable Celticsbloggers, have always felt that the chances of landing Durant in Boston are pretty remote. No let me correct that, extremely remote. Durant is in an excellent situation in OKC playing alongside Westbrook. Their incredible talents have been held back by poor coaching, IMHO. Maybe this year they overcome that. If they do his chances of leaving are 0%.

But even if they fail this year, that OKC team is just some better coaching by Donovan and an excellent role playing 3rd/4th option player away from being in the same atmosphere as GSW. It will be better for Durant to sign his 5 year deal in OKC(something he can't get elsewhere) and let the management team find that one player to add rather than Durant going to a team like Boston where Ainge would need to do more substantial work to get Boston to the same area OKC is already in.

I am not hopeful in any way shape or form of Durant coming here. I hope Ainge trades for some star talent and/or leaves his options open for the 2017 free agency period.

I disagree. They have enough talent to compete most nights against any team, but those pieces just don't fit together, which ultimately holds back their overall ceiling. Durant and Westbrook are both 1A type of players that should be headlining their own respective teams. Golden State, on the other hand, fits absolutely perfectly together, which makes their overall ceiling much higher than OKC's.

No doubt that they have a much better team than us right now, but it's still limited by its poor fit together. Our flexibility allows us to put a much more consistent team with pieces that better fit each other together.

[jpotter33]

Look, Durant staying in OKC was always the most likely option, because it's ALWAYS the most likely option for any impending free agent. Most stars just don't leave their respective teams. However, this Spurs series was the ultimate test for if he would leave or not.

There's still a decent chance that the Spurs win this series. OKC has choked up many games this year, and this series is now in the "fourth quarter stage." If anything, if they choked and lost the series now after being up 3-2, then he has all the reason in the world to leave due to them not being able to get over that hump.

Unfortunately, I don't see them winning at this point. I think San Antonio has finally fallen victim to Father Time with their aging Big 3, which ultimately will lose them this series since LMA can't seem to hit a shot in crunch time anymore. Thus, there would be no point for him to move East if they beat San Antonio, because they'd still have to deal with Golden State once they reached the Finals.

Between Durant now being most likely to stay in OKC and Cousins doubtfully on the move, this summer is looking bleaker and bleaker by the day for us making a big splash.

[loco_91]

I, like most good, realistic and knowledgeable Celticsbloggers, have always felt that the chances of landing Durant in Boston are pretty remote. No let me correct that, extremely remote. Durant is in an excellent situation in OKC playing alongside Westbrook. Their incredible talents have been held back by poor coaching, IMHO. Maybe this year they overcome that. If they do his chances of leaving are 0%.

But even if they fail this year, that OKC team is just some better coaching by Donovan and an excellent role playing 3rd/4th option player away from being in the same atmosphere as GSW. It will be better for Durant to sign his 5 year deal in OKC(something he can't get elsewhere) and let the management team find that one player to add rather than Durant going to a team like Boston where Ainge would need to do more substantial work to get Boston to the same area OKC is already in.

I am not hopeful in any way shape or form of Durant coming here. I hope Ainge trades for some star talent and/or leaves his options open for the 2017 free agency period.

I don't agree that his situation in OKC is excellent. They have had 8 years of KD+Westbrook together on that team, not to mention Harden and Ibaka, and they haven't won a championship. And there is a reason: their management sucks. They shipped out Harden for peanuts. They blew cap space on Enes Kanter. They traded for Dion Waiters. They hired Billy Donovan. I don't think Durant is going to find a better situation next year, but longer term he's got to think about what management team is going to make the smart moves that are needed to win a banner.