There was a flurry of activity on the first day of NBA free agency Friday, but other than their scheduled meeting in the Hamptons in New York with top available prize Kevin Durant, none of it involved the Warriors either coming or going.
The Warriors were the first of several teams scheduled to meet with the longtime Oklahoma City Thunder forward. Golden State reportedly sent a small army of personnel to New York's Long Island resort destination to discuss options with Durant about becoming a Warrior, including majority owner Joe Lacob, general manager Bob Myers, coach Steve Kerr and players Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
There was no information following the meeting as to whether the Warriors made a formal offer or how receptive Durant was to possibly joining the Western Conference champions, which eliminated Durant's team in the conference finals in seven games.
The 6-foot-9 Durant, a nine-year NBA veteran and a onetime league MVP, also met with the Los Angeles Clippers for four hours later Friday, and according to ESPN's Chris Broussard, Durant was "blown away" by that club's presentation. The Clippers also sent a high-powered team to the Hamptons that included owner Steve Ballmer, coach Doc Rivers, vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and players Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Clippers star guard Chris Paul also reportedly spoke to Durant by phone.
According to reports, Durant is scheduled to meet with representatives from the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs on Saturday and the Miami Heat on Sunday.
There is also a strong possibility that Durant could return to Oklahoma City for at least one more season because of the additional money _ approximately $40 million _ he could make by becoming a free agent again next year. Durant met with Thunder executives Thursday before entertaining other teams' pitches, and the general consensus is that he is most likely going to return to OKC.
The Warriors are unlikely to make any internal or external free agent moves until Durant decides where he is going to play, however. That decision is expected fairly quickly after he meets with all of the teams making overtures this weekend.
Golden State has a number of free-agent issues. Starting forward Harrison Barnes, backup center Festus Ezeli and reserve forward James Michael McAdoo are restricted free agents (the Warriors can match any offer made to them), while center-forward Marreese Speights, guard Leandro Barbosa and swingman Brandon Rush are unrestricted free agents. Backup point guard Shaun Livingston has an option on an additional year that the club has yet to exercise, and center Andrew Bogut, forward Andre Iguodala and two-time MVP Curry will all be entering the final years of their existing contracts next season.
