This is part two of our detailed look at the NBA's top free agents.
* All salary cap numbers are from www.spotrac.com.
Possible Teams: Golden State, New York, Brooklyn
Stats & Accolades:
Career Stats: 27 pts/ 7.1 reb/ 4.1 ast
10-time All-Star
9-time All-NBA
4-time Scoring Champ
2-time Finals MVP
2014 NBA MVP
Roster/Championship Potential:
3) New York Knicks - The Knicks have no proven point guard, no reliable shooting, and no veteran leadership. They DO have a lot of youth and a lot of cap space. With Durant expected to take a “medical redshirt” to rehab his torn Achilles the Knicks would still be several pieces away from even playoff contention.
2) Brooklyn Nets - A healthy Durant provides an immediate boost to Brooklyn’s youngish core of Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, and Joe Harris. That's in addition to recently acquired wing Taurean Prince and either Kyrie Irving or D’Angelo Russell at the point. The Nets have surprising wing depth and the addition of a healthy Durant to makes them legitimate contenders for the top spots in the Eastern Conference.
1) Golden State - Any time a healthy Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson step onto the court with Steph Curry, Golden State is the overwhelming championship favorite.
Fit:
3) New York - The addition of Durant creates the potential for one of the best frontcourts in the East. Durant could slide in at the four next to a promising but inconsistent wing scorer in Kevin Knox and an athletic young defensive anchor in Mitchell Robinson.
2) Golden State - While Durant was able to assimilate his iso-heavy style into Golden State’s free-flowing movement-based offense, it was never a perfect marriage. Durant’s devastating mid-range iso game meant less usage and production for Steph Curry, which was evident in Curry's offensive explosion during Durant’s absence in the playoffs. Durant thrived off Curry’s “gravity,” but there may be another team whose system returns him to his offensive peak of winning four scoring titles in five years.
1) Brooklyn - Brooklyn thrives on playing fast and shooting a TON of threes (fifth most in the league). The Nets already have wing depth and shooting, and a healthy Durant provides a huge boost on the defensive end of the floor as well. Brooklyn’s trigger-happy uptempo offense could rekindle the MVP-level scoring prowess of Durant as the clear alpha on a playoff-caliber team.
Cap Room:
Brooklyn projects to have around $66 million in cap space, allowing the Nets to bring in two max contracts while retaining their young core.
New York projects to have just under $60 million in cap space, putting them in a nearly identical situation to Brooklyn.
Golden State has roughly $13 million in cap space meaning a max offer for both Durant and Klay Thompson would send them DEEP into the luxury tax.
Most Likely Team:
3) Golden State - Durant declined his player option with Golden State on 6/26/19. That could be an indication of his plans to leave, or it could simply be to allow him to sign a max contract to stay. Considering the internal turmoil and age of the Warriors roster (oldest in the NBA), it seemed highly unlikely Durant would stay prior to rupturing his Achilles during the NBA Finals. From the Warriors standpoint, does it make sense to offer a max deal to a player who will likely miss the entire 2019-20 season when you have an aging roster and your championship window is rapidly closing? Re-signing with Golden State is still an option, but it seems like more of a long shot at this point.
2) New York - The Knicks are attractive because of their bountiful cap space and the fact they are NOT in “win-now” mode. Signing with the Knicks would allow Durant to rehab while the Knicks continue to develop their young players and possibly (likely) add a second star. Even with Durant, the Knicks know they won’t be in title contention next year, but a 32-year old Durant could return for the 2020-21 season healthy and ready to lead a roster of less-young talent on a deep playoff run.
1) Brooklyn - Brooklyn provides the best mixture of fit, roster quality, and financial security. Durant will almost certainly be joined by another All-Star on a team that has improved tremendously in each of the last two seasons. They should be a playoff team even without him, and his return could provide a Kawhi Leonard-esque boost into the elite tier of the league.
Possible Teams: Charlotte, Dallas, Boston, New York
Stats & Accolades:
2018 Stats: 25.6 pts / 5.9 ast / Played all 82 games
Three-time All-Star
2018-19 All-NBA Third Team
Roster/Championship Potential:
4) Charlotte - The Hornets roster is a trainwreck stocked with overpaid, underperforming veterans with bad contracts such as Nicolas Batum, Bismack Biyombo, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The contracts are nearly impossible to trade, and the Hornets lack youth, backcourt depth, and outside shooting. With or without Walker, they could easily be one of the worst teams in the league next season.
3) New York - Walker provides an immediate upgrade over Dennis Smith, Jr., but his presence alone won’t be enough to turn around a young Knicks team that lacks outside shooting and had one of the worst defensive ratings in recent memory. The best hope is the addition of a second All-Star like Kevin Durant or Jimmy Butler, or even a second-tier star like Tobias Harris.
2) Dallas - Assuming that Kristaps Porzingis signs a deal to the return to the Mavericks, Dallas boasts good wing depth and a lot of scoring potential in Tim Hardaway, Jr., Luka Doncic, and Walker himself. The addition of a another quality big like Al Horford would make Dallas a trendy playoff pick, though still not a championship favorite.
1) Boston - Boston emerged earlier this week as a strong contender for Walker. They boast the deepest wing rotation in the league and Walker’s high-end scoring ability makes him a perfect replacement for free agent point guard Kyrie Irving. Boston has to find a frontcourt replacement for Al Horford, but there is no reason to believe a Walker-led team couldn’t duplicate the Celtics 2018 Conference Finals run.
Fit:
4) Charlotte - The Hornets roster is a disaster. They have no assets, very little young talent, and too many huge contracts to improve their lineup. A return to Charlotte would essentially waste two more years of Walker’s prime until the last of their terrible contracts expire in 2021.
3) Dallas - While Dallas has some quality young talent , it’s hard to see a high usage player like Walker (31.5%) thriving alongside an equally high usage player like Luka Doncic (30.5%) and a chucker like Hardaway, Jr. Carlisle’s system thrives with two ball-handlers, but Walker does his best work on-the-ball via slashing and pull-up jump shots. His spot-up shooting is world’s better than Dennis Smith, Jr., but it still seems as though Walker might fit better in a role where he serves as a team’s primary initiator on offense.
2) New York - The Knicks point guard position has been a black hole for the better part of the last 10 years. Their last All-star guard was Allan Houston in 2001, and they haven’t had an All-Star point guard since the Reagan administration (1981). Walker provides an immediate upgrade over Dennis Smith, Jr. and a bona fide second star should the Knicks land another max-level free agent.
1) Boston - Walker makes perfect sense as a high-usage, reasonably efficient offensive engine to replace Kyrie Irving. The addition of Walker allows the Celtics to renounce the rights to disgruntled backup Terry Rozier and use Marcus Smart as the full-time back-up point guard.
Cap Room:
Charlotte - The Hornets have just $5 million of cap space, meaning they would go neck-deep into the luxury just to bring Walker back. That obviously leaves no room to bring in additional talent, largely due to the fact the Hornets have $85 million tied up in Nicolas Batum, Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The Charlotte cap situation is an absolute nightmare.
Dallas - The Mavericks project to have $46 million in cap space, about $28 million of which is expected to go to a new contract for Kristaps Porzingis. Owner Mark Cuban has shown no aversion to paying the luxury tax in the past, so it’s reasonable to think they would go into the luxury tax to max out Walker also.
Boston - The Celtics currently have around $32 million in cap space but can add additional space by renouncing the rights to Terry Rozier. That would leave them with enough money to sign Walker and pursue a quality, but maybe not marquis big man such as Dewayne Dedmon or Brook Lopez.
New York - New York has enough salary cap space for two max free agents.
Most Likely Team:
4) Charlotte - Despite Walker’s professed desire to return to Charlotte, it simply doesn’t make sense from a basketball standpoint. While it would be difficult to walk away from a potential super-max contract, Charlotte appears to be AT LEAST two years away from being competitive, and possibly further away from actually being a factor in the Eastern Conference.
3) Dallas - The Mavs have attractive young talent and a great financial situation, but Walker would arrive in the shadow of Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic while moving to a conference absolutely stacked at the guard positions. In other words, Walker could continue his outstanding All-NBA level play and yet go years without making an All-Star team behind the likes of Damian Lillard, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Klay Thompson. It’s unclear if either of those things would affect his decision, but it seems as though his best path to playoff success and individual recognition lies in the Eastern Conference.
2) New York - Walker is a New York native and the Knicks provide the best chance to earn a huge payday and also play with another superstar while still in his prime.
1) Boston - Walker would step in as the cornerstone of a playoff-tested team that he isn’t expected to carry and that has enough depth to win consistently without him scoring 40 points every night.
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