If Kevin Durant ends up signing with a team other than the Boston Celtics, team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge can rest well knowing he did everything he possibly could to land the star free agent.
Durant met with the Celtics in the Hamptons — the same place he will meet with several other teams — on Saturday. As we shared with you previously, Ainge got three-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady to join him in making a pitch to Durant, but the conversation between K.D. and Brady may have started before the official meeting.
A report from the New York Daily News claims that Durant actually flew to Boston on Friday before traveling back to the Hamptons the following day on a 14-seat private jet. Brady is said to have joined him on the flight.
If that isn’t enough to get Celtics fans excited, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe cites a source who was at the Hamptons meeting who claims Brady is “Durant’s favorite athlete.”
Adding even more fuel to the Durant-to-Boston rumors, the Celtics signed Al Horford to a four-year max contract extension on Sunday. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Atlanta Hawks believed Horford’s heart was with them and were led to believe he was returning. In fact, Horford is said to have preferred the level of talent of the Washington Wizards’ roster over that of the Celtics, so why the sudden change of heart?
We’ll find out soon enough, but you can understand why Boston fans suddenly feel like their team has a shot at signing Durant. We already know the 27-year-old’s meeting with another team went well, so it’s too early to jump the gun. There is definitely more hope now than there was on Friday, however.
