Discussions with his former teammates notwithstanding, it's still unclear if Kevin Durant would actually be interested in returning to the Golden State Warriors. There are other major obstacles the Dubs and Brooklyn Nets would have to clear in a potential trade built around the the two-time Finals MVP, too.

Ignore those complications for now, though. Why? The way Dubs owner Joe Lacob indirectly talks about Durant's prospective return to Golden State makes it seem not just implausible, but close to impossible.

During an appearance on The TK Show with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Lacob was asked by the host about a “big, big, big name coming back who may or may not be requesting a trade that you're familiar with”—a barely-veiled reference to rumors of Durant's reunion with the Warriors.

“I'm not gonna comment specifically on any player. You know what this answer is going to be, which is we will always look at any opportunities to make ourselves better,” Lacob replied. “The question you have to ask is, better near term, better intermediate term or better long term? Some options to building the team, if we were to pivot in some way, some partial way, might give us an even higher upside near term, but might decrease the long term. So these are the things that Bob [Myers] and the group, we all have to look at and determine what's the right path.”

Lacob's personal affinity for building separate timelines around franchise icons Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and talented youngsters Jordan Poole, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman isn't even an open secret. Golden State balked at widespread urges to move those players for a superstar both before 2021-22 tipped off and at the trade deadline, believing the incumbent roster was good enough to win at the highest level.

After a fourth title in eight seasons, Lacob is singing the same tune.

“We're pretty excited about these guys. People criticized me and us, some people did, for the quote ‘dual timeline,'” he said. “Now everyone think it's brilliant because we won! I would think the fans, and like us, we don't want to have a span of five or 10 years where we're not good. We want to try to win championships, we did it, we're gonna try to do it again this year, and at the same time develop young players who can eventually continue to take more and more minutes as the older guys start to take less of a role.”

Sean Marks and the Nets would no doubt demand at least three of Golden State's prized young players in exchange for Durant just to initiate serious trade talks. The Warriors would surely have to add at least three future first-round picks, too, and that's before considering hurdles related to salary-matching.

Lacob, obviously, didn't completely close the door on re-acquiring Durant on The TK Show. He could've if he wanted. Lacob seems more committed than ever to thinking big picture after his confidence in the roster was rewarded with another title, though. Bringing Durant back directly clashes with that perspective.

But don't fret about likely losing the opportunity to add another superstar, Dub Nation. Golden State will always look into big-name players when they become available, and Lacob knows it's only a matter of time until the next one is looking to continue his career elsewhere–perhaps in the beautiful Bay Area.

“If it isn't the player you're referring to, there's gonna be the next player. That's the one thing about the NBA,” he said.

“It's just unbelievable how these things seem to happen every year, and we're always gonna be looking to make our team better, to try to win a championship. And if we thought it was something better to do for the team, we would do it. We have to weight short term, long term and all of that. We have to weigh the financial obligations in both scenarios. But we will do all that and make the decision we feel is best.”

[Tim Kawakami, The Athletic]