Report: Kevin Durant will leave Thunder if they don’t make NBA Finals

According to a prominent NBA broadcaster, Kevin Durant won’t be back with the Oklahoma City Thunder if they don’t reach the NBA Finals this season.

Joel Meyers, the widely-respected voice of the New Orleans Pelicans and former voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, told SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday that he’s heard Durant will be out the door if the Thunder fall short of the 2016 NBA Finals.

“I made some calls over the weekend, Vinny,” Meyers said, as transcribed by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. “If they don’t, I’m told if they don’t at least get to the NBA Finals, Durant’s gone. Simple as that. And to the point where he may want his own team.”

Meyers also disputed reports that the Golden State Warriors are Durant’s most likely destination should he leave OKC.

“So everybody’s talking about Golden State,” Meyers said. “There may be other teams coming into the equation for Kevin Durant. He’s the principle. He’s going to be the guy. So from what I’ve been told, it may not be Golden State after all.”

If there’s any truth to this, Thunder fans should cherish Durant now, because they’ll be facing an extremely uphill battle to get past both the San Antonio Spurs and the Warriors in the Western Conference playoffs. That said, a lot of these details fly in the face of previous reports we’ve heard. People associated with the Warriors reportedly believe they are in a strong position to get Durant. It has also been reported that Durant’s top priority is to win a championship, not be the main guy on a team. If he wants to be the star, Golden State isn’t a good choice. If he wants to contend for a championship, there are few – if any – places he could go that would be better. Whatever the case, expect Durant to push all this to the side and deny it, as he has previously when free agency talk has come up.

H/T theScore