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Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are about to be two of the most desired free agents in the NBA this offseason, with any team out there hoping for a chance to land the All-Stars. And, as we’ve heard for months now, there’s been a lot of speculation about Durant and Irving teaming up somewhere to join forces, with a place like the New York Knicks being the destination most talked about.
But ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is here to pump the brakes a little bit on all that talk, because he talked about another destination that could end up bringing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together — and it’s a familiar one for Irving, because the team Windhorst suggests keeping an eye on is the Boston Celtics.
Talking on The Jump yesterday prior to Durant and Irving playing against one another last night, Brian Windhorst laid out how the Celtics should be considered a serious possibility for the two NBA champs to land when free agency hits in July. And, while Windy isn’t as quick to say that he thinks it’s going to happen, he does offer some insight as to why it could happen.
Per NESN:
“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.”
“They have the assets to trade for Anthony Davis. Kevin Durant can be signed and traded. They can work out a deal. Remember, the team that finished in ‘second place’ when he signed with the Warriors was Boston. When people look at Kyrie and KD, I think they automatically assume it’s just gonna be in New York. There’s other teams out there that could do it. … Don’t just assume that because KD and Kyrie have a relationship that they would only want to potentially play together in New York.”
Given the frustration that Kyrie Irving has shown all season long, it’s easy to discount the Celtics as serious contenders for him in free agency. Then again, Windhorst does offer up some solid points here as reasons to think that the team could persuade Irving in staying — with the most obvious being they can offer him the most money — and then finding a way to do a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors to acquire Durant. It’s not the easiest route, but it’s definitely a possibility.
Who knows how all of this will go down, but there’s so much talk about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving teaming up together somewhere that any team with two max slots should be considered. Just the possibility of Boston ending up with both is something that Celtics fans are probably salivating over right now — but talk to me on July 1st.
(H/T NESN)