While Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant is trying to get his team to the Western Conference Finals, sportsbooks are speculating where he might land after the season. The All-Star is in the last year of his contract with the defending NBA champions, and speculation has been that he wants to play elsewhere in the 2019-2020 season.
Oddsmakers tend to disagree. At least one offshore site, bookmaker.eu, has Durant coming back to the Warriors. He is listed as -114 to resign with Golden State. The New York Knicks are next at +140, followed by the Los Angeles Clippers at +1100, and the Los Angeles Lakers at +1600. Free agency doesn’t start until July 1.
Much like when Durant signed with Golden State from Oklahoma City in 2016, he has been tight lipped about his future, telling reporters a few weeks ago he hasn’t thought about next season.
“I don’t know. I never know,” Durant said. “Nothing. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I don’t think about the future, bro. Like that. Of course, I think about it, but not like, let me make these [plans], let me go ahead and go through the logistics and the details. I don’t go through details on s*** like this.”
Tired Topic Irks Durant
It has been a subject that reporters have tried to press Durant on, and it has made the 30-year-old cranky. He has lashed out a couple of times at the media when asked about his future.
“That’s a hot topic,” Durant said of his free agency. “But you don’t have to talk about it. And then you don’t have to get mad when I don’t want to talk about it. And then you don’t have to get mad when your little brain is roaming around, but you can’t find the correct answers. That’s bad journalism. That’s not doing your job well.”
Still the questions persist, and no one is any closer to an answer. That hasn’t stopped members of the media from reporting that Durant is favoring one team over another.
Lakers Now Knicks
In January, the Lakers were the +175 favorite to sign Durant, according to MyBookie. The Warriors were next at +200, and the Knicks followed at +300.
Two months later and the Warriors are the favorite, but the rumors of Durant wanting to lead a team, rather than play second-fiddle, like he has in Golden State with Steph Curry, have caused the Durant to New York rumors to grow louder.
It has resonated with the NBA Championship odds for the 2019-2020 season. The Knicks, who have been one of the league’s worst teams, saw their odds open at 16/1 at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Warriors are the favorite at 7/4, followed by Milwaukee, 9/2, Boston, 7/1, Philadelphia and Houston, 10/1.
Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk at Westgate, said he could see the Knicks odds going even lower if the team signs Durant and Boston free agent Kyrie Irving, and gets projected No. 1 pick Zion Williamson of Duke.
“I could see them at 12-1 [with Durant and Irving],” Sherman told ESPN. “All we’re doing is making these odds based on today’s perception on where people think these guys might have a legitimate chance of going.”