ESPN’s Brian Windhorst sure knows how to stoke fires.
Appearing on Thursday’s airing of “The Jump” with co-hosts Rachel Nichols and Paul Pierce, Windhorst speculated on the possibility of Golden State Warriors superstar forward Kevin Durant joining the Boston Celtics in the offseason.
“It’s not impossible for the Celtics to get their hands on Kevin Durant this offseason,” Windhorst said.
“I’m not saying I think it’s gonna happen, I’m just saying it’s not impossible.”
Flipping the recent speculation that Irving would leave the Celtics to team up with Durant in New York on it’s head, Windhorst posited that if Boston has the pieces to trade for New Orleans Pelicans All-Star center Anthony Davis, they could trade for Durant as well. Further, per Windhorst, Boston finished second to Golden State when Durant signed with the Warriors in 2016.
“Well, they have the assets to trade for Anthony Davis. Durant can be signed and traded … remember the team that finished in second place when he signed with the Warriors was Boston.”
While Durant could be traded to the Celtics in a sign-and-trade this offseason and Boston would likely have the pieces to make such a deal work if they so desired, Windhorst is wrong in stating that Boston was Durant’s second choice in free agency in 2016.
Last March, Durant appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast after signing with the Warriors and refuted Simmons’ conjecture that the Celtics were the runner-up to Golden State that summer, instead stating that a return to the Oklahoma City Thunder was his second option as a free agent (per MassLive‘s Tom Westerholm).
That said, with his best friend Kyrie Irving donning the green jersey of an illustrious franchise and former teammate Russell Westbrook finding a new MVP-caliber running mate in All-Star forward Paul George, there’s a likelihood the Celtics have a better chance of swaying Durant to sign with the Celtics over the Thunder in the offseason.
There’s still a question of whether Durant would prefer to remain in Golden State. But should the two-time Finals MVP want a new challenge, he could opt to move to the Eastern Conference and join forces with Irving in an effort to overtake the NBA as the league’s newest and most powerful duo.
Perhaps trying to woo Durant in free agency would be in Celtics president and general manager Danny Ainge’s interest anyway. Though Boston has had a longstanding interest in Davis, the big man doesn’t seem to keen on remaining in Boston long-term. But Durant may not show the same reluctance.
Further, in looking at the trade from an on-court perspective, if a trade for either superstar costs them Jayson Tatum, Durant would be a better fit in the starting lineup than Davis. Celtics leader Al Horford feels as if playing center for Boston makes him as dynamic as possible in the Pace and Space Era. Between Horford, Irving at point guard and Durant at small forward, any two off-ball or defensive threats will suffice at shooting guard and power forward.
It’s all fantasy and speculation until the offseason, yet the possibility of the Celtics adding Durant is as intriguing as it is unlikely.
