The Warriors were expected to be a major player in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, and they wasted no time getting in line to make their pitch to the NBA’s biggest potential offseason catch.
Golden State has secured a face-to-face with the free agent-to-be, along with the San Antonio Spurs and Durant’s team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to a report Friday night by ESPN.com‘s Marc Stein.
The teams, according to the report, will begin meeting with Durant next week when the free agency period kicks in. Other teams are expected to enter the pursuit for the seven-time All-Star.
According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant is expected to make a decision by July 9.
According to the ESPN report, sources say the Warriors and Spurs are planning to fly key personnel to meet with Durant as part of the pitches. For the Warriors, that reportedly includes Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The Spurs’ delegation reportedly will include Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan.
The Warriors’ quick action wasn’t a surprise. After the Warriors’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, one Warriors executive, speaking of the team’s offseason plan, told this newspaper, “We will be very aggressive. Very, very aggressive.” Although the trio of Western Conference rivals will be first to meet with Durant, they won’t be alone. The Vertial reported the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are also talking with Durant’s representatives. With the salary cap going up, many teams will have the money to make a run at him.
Washington, Durant’s hometown team, recently hired former Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Boston’s Isaiah Thomas recently have taken to Twitter in hopes of luring Durant.
The Warriors’ pursuit of Durant will impact — and be impacted by — restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli.
Coach Steve Kerr, recently on Tim Kawakami’s The TK Show podcast, said, “I talked to Harrison about it he other night. I love Harrison. He’s such a great guy and great teammate. So versatile. He’s done so many things. He’s also very mature. We kind of had a discussion. I said hey, this is the NBA. You might choose to go somewhere else we might choose to sign someone.
“Who knows what’s going to happen, but it’s all business. You have to take care of your business, we take care of ours. There’s never hard feelings with this stuff, but again, I want him back.”
