Kevin Durant didn't just decide not to join the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, he didn't even consider them.
Durant allowed many teams to court him, from the Warriors to the Spurs, Clippers, Celtics, and the incumbent Thunder. Teams like the Lakers and the Knicks didn't make the cut.
It's not surprising for basketball reasons. The Lakers are in total rebuilding mode, fresh off their worst season in franchise history. They're just not used to free agents not even considering L.A.
The media caught up with Durant yesterday in Las Vegas for Team USA basketball practice. KD provided the straight-forward reason why the Lakers were never in the hunt.
He's definitely not wrong.
Durant obviously wants to give himself the best chance to win a championship next season. There's no debating Golden State is the place to be if that's his top priority.
The Lakers are definitely a few years away, and that's from just competing to make the playoffs. They have a nice, young core right now with the last two number two overall picks, D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram, along with some other promising prospects in Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. If you're talking about the 2019 Lakers, it's an exciting team. Durant is just in win-now mode right now.
With that young core, the Lakers might be able to trade a few pieces for a name like Russell Westbrook or Paul George down the road. Or, they could recruit a player like that to join them if they have a good 2016-17 season. But this summer, Kevin Durant to the Lakers was never going to happen.
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