Everybody wants Kevin Durant.
In less than a week, he'll become the biggest free agent on the market, and the rest of the NBA world will wait to see what he decides. Stay in OKC? Join up with the Warriors and conquer the universe? Head back home to Washington? Take his talents to Milwaukee? (OK, no one thinks that.)
With Durant the next big NBA story now that the draft is over, we thought we'd guide you through his options -- which, theoretically, is every team in the NBA. We've broken all 30 teams into tiers based on their actual chances of signing Durant.
"HAHAHAHA ... OH YOU WERE SERIOUS. NO. NEVER. NOT AT ALL."
30. Philadelphia 76ers: They could make Durant's mom their new president of basketball operations and he would not sign with them. "I'm going to take the Sixers to the Finals" is a heat check from the parking lot that even J.R. Smith would not attempt.
29. Phoenix Suns: Their organization has a reputation for alienating players, they have very little in the way of talent and their owner has a reputation for penny pinching. At least the weather's hot enough to boil the flesh from bone, though.
28. Milwaukee Bucks: Milwaukee is NBA Siberia. Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, there's no draw that could get Durant there without their making a serious leap into title contention, which isn't happening even if they had Durant.
27. Denver Nuggets: The Broncos have a significantly better chance at signing a free agent like Durant than the Nuggets do. Maybe they should try it, just to see. Wait, they're not even willing to pay Von Miller what he's worth. Never mind.
26. Sacramento Kings: The only thing more insane than Kevin Durant deciding to sign with the Kings would be whatever crazy thing the Kings decide to do next.
25. Orlando Magic: If he wants to go to Florida, he goes to Miami. If he wanted to play with Ibaka, he would have told Oklahoma City to keep him instead of trading him to Orlando.
24. Charlotte Hornets: I'm not even sure what their pitch would be. "You'll really love convention season and you can play pickup with M.J. sometimes."?
"NAW, MAN ... I HATE THOSE GUYS"
23. Memphis Grizzlies: It's a tiny market with a core that's on the downswing. Also, they've battled so much, Durant has a lot of sore feelings about how sore the Grizzlies have made him.
22. Dallas Mavericks: K.D. hasn't gotten along with this franchise for five years. They handed him his first Western Conference finals loss, and in this year's first round things got downright ugly between them. K.D. takes joy in taking these guys out. Seems unlikely he'll join up.
21. Los Angeles Clippers: They have a longstanding rivalry, no cap space, and if he's heading West, there's a team just north he can join.
"YOU'RE NOT READY"
20. Utah Jazz: Great coach, good core of players, but not enough to sell him on being in Utah. Tough squad, not enough.
19. New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis is a pull but New Orleans has never been a free-agent destination. They took a step back last season and Alvin Gentry isn't a great fit with Durant's style.
18. Minnesota Timberwolves: The best up-and-coming team in the land, Durant would be wise to consider them, but veterans never want to play with young guys. He also probably doesn't want to risk playing 48 minutes per game for Tom Thibodeau.
17. Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have been a great team despite playoff troubles under Mike Budenholzer and they have veteran talent. But Atlanta never seems able to land the big fish in free agency and there's a lot of talk they could be headed in the opposite direction, especially with Al Horford's free agency and the trade of Jeff Teague.
16. Indiana Pacers: They reconfigured their roster, and Durant is a huge fan of Larry Bird. But the Pacers don't offer him the best situation. Also, it would be nice if their fans noticed they have a team every now and again.
15. Detroit Pistons: Stan Van Gundy is quite a pull, and Andre Drummond is a good running partner. But their second-best player is Reggie Jackson, who ... let's just say Durant has had issues with in the past.
"LOVE YOUR CITY ... BUT I'D RATHER JUST VISIT"
14. Brooklyn Nets: It's a huge opportunity for him off the court and if he came, he instantly makes them a free-agent destination. But this franchise is also mostly rubble. I'm only putting them this high for market considerations.
13. New York Knicks: Phil Jackson has 11 rings! Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose are stars! New York is a big city! Yeah, this isn't happening. It's the Knicks.
12. Los Angeles Lakers: Unless Luke Walton turns into Bill Walton and plays forward, or Kobe Bryant steps out of a time machine, there's no way this goes down. Taking over the Lakers is a legacy move, but being the franchise player manning the helm as the ship goes down is not the kind of legacy you want.
11. Chicago Bulls: Chicago has a lot going for it, but the team also seems to be in a chaotic state of not knowing where it's going. The Bulls don't offer the kind of stability Durant will want. Who knows how long Jimmy Butler will even be around?
10. Toronto Raptors: The tax issue is real, the terrible weather issue is real and the gap between them and the Cavaliers is very real. The Raptors would be a fun idea, and might even get a meeting, but you just can't see it.
"WE'RE FRIENDS, BUT NOT FRIEND-FRIENDS"
9. Cleveland Cavaliers: Man, you want to beat the Warriors, this is one way to go about it, and they could do the sign-and-trade for Kevin Love. But you just can't see Durant wanting to be Robin to LeBron's Batman. It's very much not his style.
8. Washington Wizards: This seemed like a real possibility a year ago, but then the Wizards fell off a cliff. Durant may love home, but he can't justify this with where he is in his career.
7. Houston Rockets: This has already been shot down by reports. James Harden and K.D. are buddies and Harden will recruit him hard, but there's just no way Durant wants any part of that squad after what happened last season. For contending for a title, he would be going to the third-best team in the division.
6. Portland Trail Blazers: Portland is on the rise and has a great GM in Neil Olshey. They're talented and there's a star there in Damian Lillard. But they're also young, which is a mark against, and not a sexy enough location to boost him.
"YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION"
5. Miami Heat: If Bosh was healthy, man would this look good. Even with the shadow of LeBron there, Durant could enjoy the South Beach lifestyle and have a stacked organization and team around him. Turning down Pat Riley is going to be difficult no matter what.
4. Boston Celtics: A sexy pick among the options. The Celtics are theoretically one true star away from contention, and Durant's Bird fascination feeds into this. And of course, Brad Stevens is Brad Stevens. But I'm not exactly sure what would draw Durant to want to play with a team that can't get past Atlanta and just added 50 more draft picks, all of which were reaches.
3. San Antonio Spurs: The mighty Spurs. But then, the Thunder toppled them. Why leave what he has in OKC for a team he knows he can beat now? Plus, the Spurs have been a thorn for so long, it would feel like such a capitulation to just walk on over there and join them.
2. Golden State Warriors: The big threat. But really, does he want to go be Steph Curry's spot-up shooter for a team that he grew to genuinely despise over the course of the Western Conference finals? Especially when he knows how close he was to beating them? Durant has never shown a real interest in the tech industry, and has always said he doesn't want to be No. 2. Draymond Green would think he's No.3. Still, they were champs, once, before their humiliating collapse in the Finals, and they won 73 games. It's a special team. Turning them down would be difficult.
HOME
1. Oklahoma City Thunder: He has built a kingdom there, and for all the grief OKC's front office gets for its decisions, the team has put him in the Western Conference finals four times and the NBA Finals once, way more than what Kevin Garnett had in Minnesota at this age, better than most star players at his point in their careers. They've devoted themselves to him, can offer him the most money, and Sam Presti has shown himself to be as good a GM as anyone who didn't get Steph Curry on a bizarre discount deal due to injury.
He can wait a year, see how it goes, and decide next year with a $10 million raise.
This doesn't seem like a really tough decision when you look at the list. Oklahoma City is home. Then again, Cleveland was home for LeBron James when he faced this decision six years ago.
