By Salman Ali on June 10, 2016
Follow @RedNationHoopsThe Houston Rockets have been long rumored to be suitors for star forward Kevin Durant this summer. In fact, James Harden himself even admitted Durant would be high on his priority list this summer in terms of free agents to recruit.
"Durantula" - Harden answered to teammate Jason Terry when asked on Sirius XM who he would most be interested in recruiting to Houston.James Harden and Kevin Durant's relationship extends back to James Harden's rookie year in 2009 where the two forged a tight friendship before Harden was eventually traded to the Rockets in 2012. The two were even spotted out in Arizona together sharing a meal and hanging out at a club which raised a lot of speculation.
This picture was posted less than an hour ago. I wonder what they might have to talk about?https://t.co/VX17ycwEe7 pic.twitter.com/L3QVu6TsS6— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) June 6, 2016
KEVIN DURANT & JAMES HARDEN pic.twitter.com/0ZVyzUETKY— ❗️❗️❗️ (@geraldyu14) June 6, 2016
However, it seems like if there was even a little bit of recruiting going on from Harden's part, it largely proved to have little to no impact. ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that any possible Harden's best effort, the time they shared together likely won't affect Durant's final decision.
Stein also went on to say, that not only have the visits proved to be fruitless on the part of James Harden, the Rockets in general will likely not stand a good chance of landing the coveted free agent. Durant reportedly doesn't consider Houston at all as a viable destination this summer.Kevin Durant and James Harden have indeed been hanging out this week, but league sources say the visits will have no impact on free agency.— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 10, 2016
According to Stein, Durant will likely sign back with the Thunder "on a two-year max contract, with a player option to return to free agency in the summer of 2017" as our own Jorge Flores theorized he would in a column last week.The Rockets, league sources say, are not a team Kevin Durant plans to consider in free agency, despite Houston's well-known fondness for him— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 10, 2016
This decision makes the most financial and practical sense for Durant as he would be able to sign a "super-max" deal with the Thunder worth roughly $208 million over 5 years after opting out of his contract next summer. He would currently stand to make $150 million over 5 years if he simply resigned with the Thunder this summer. What makes it the most practical thing to do is it makes his free agency line up directly with star teammate Russell Westbrook next year.
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