Durant: Rumors about future aren't distracting
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant‘s free agency is still five months away. But with chatter increasing surrounding his future, the Thunder forward said the speculation and rumors aren’t a distraction for him or his team.
“Nah, nobody talks about it here,” Durant told reporters following shootaround Wednesday. “We don’t even talk about basketball outside the court, much less free agency chatter. We don’t talk about that stuff. As soon as we walk off this court it’s friendships and brotherhood. It makes it easier when you have a group of guys where that’s not always turned on talking about basketball.”
A report Tuesday from Yahoo! Sports said the Golden State Warriors — whom the Thunder play this Saturday — are “significant front-runners” for Durant this summer, should he chose to leave Oklahoma City.
“It’s out of my control,” Durant said. “Guys are going to write stories, write what they want to write about, but I just try to stay locked in where I am and try to be the best teammate and help my team win a championship.”
Durant’s free agency was hyped as of the biggest stories of the season, but with the historic pace the Warriors are currently on, coupled with the lack of rumors or reports, Durant has mostly escaped the churning questioning about it. The Thunder’s trip to New York last week brought a few questions, but other than that, Durant hasn’t had to deal with what was expected to be a day-to-day grind.
That changed in New York last week where Durant was asked a number of questions about his future. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith then said last Friday on ESPN 710’s Mason and Ireland radio show that Durant and Russell Westbrook teaming up in Los Angeles with the Lakers was a “big possibility.”
“I blame it on you, man,” Durant joked to Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman, who last week wrote a piece on the surprising lack of conversation about the former MVP’s free agency. “Before you had a little story out, nothing was happening and it was cool. But now, I guess you could say it’s ramped up.
“But that’s just a part of it, that’s a part of this process. I understand that. Everybody has to do their jobs,” Durant continued. “Of course the fans want to know what’s going on but I can’t control any of that. I just try to come out and work hard every single day and focus on what’s in front of me and not worry about what’s going to happen down the line. All that stuff I can’t control. Like I said, when that time comes we’ll talk about it, but for right now I’m 100 percent locked in and committed to being the best teammate and player I can be and helping my team get a championship.”
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