Are the Nets Targeting Kevin Durant?

2016 is when superstar Kevin Durant becomes a free agent.

2016 is a long way away. Long as in there are two full seasons of NBA basketball to play after this one, which we are currently only halfway through, is over.

But hey, it's never too early to start planning, right?

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News is reporting that the Brooklyn Nets have their eyes set on Durant, the forward who won three consecutive scoring titles and averages an league-high 31.3 points per game this year. Bondy even goes so far as to call it "inevitable."

"The impending Durant free agency should start picking up steam next season and will undoubtedly engulf the NBA summer of 2016," Bondy writes. "And make no mistake: the Nets are targeting Durant...even if it's too early to predict their odds."

Durant, who is still just 25 years old, has played his entire seven-year career with the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise (including its last year in Seattle). With Durant at the helm, the team has made the playoffs each of the last four years and appeared in the NBA Finals in 2012. Currently, the Thunder are the top seed in the Western Conference by a healthy 3.5 games.

Despite his massive success with the franchise, Bondy hints that there are those around the league who suspect that Durant may want out of Oklahoma City, which he points out is one of the NBA's smallest markets.

By the time 2016 comes, the Nets will not be responsible for paying any contracts (unless Deron Williams exercises his player option for that year). This leaves them wide open to go out and sign Durant, who would be a free agent at that point, Bondy speculates.

Wooing Durant to come to Brooklyn may actually not be as much of a pipe dream as it sounds right now. For one, Brooklyn is located basically right in the heart of New York City, perhaps the most exciting city on the planet. Another thing is that Durant's agent is Jay-Z, as in the Jay-Z who was a minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets just last season and orchestrated the franchise's move across the Hudson River. The hip-hop mogul has not shown his face at the Barclays Center so far this season, but he's sat courtside at Chesapeake Energy Arena to watch the Slim Reaper play.

Maybe he'll be at Barclays tomorrow when the red-hot Durantula comes to Brooklyn.

The 6'9" offensive powerhouse has been on an absolute tear as of late. He's scored 30 or more in the last 12 games he's played, averaging 38 points per game over that stretch. He's shooting 54.4 percent while grabbing 6.3 boards and dishing out 5.9 assists. To say he's on a terrific run would be a total understatement – Durant is on one of the best offensive streaks in NBA history.

This is no coincidence. Durant is, without question, the best offensive player in the NBA right now. He's listed at 6'9", but he's probably a bit taller in reality. He has a wingspan of an absurd 7'5" wingspan. He has a silky smooth jumper with outstanding range, an absolutely lethal crossover, and can dribble and drive with the best of them. Combine these skills with his body and it's no wonder why Durant has been able to score more or less at will even against top notch opponents. Here he is last night, facing off against one of the best one-on-one defenders in the NBA:



Durant will be just 27 years old in 2016 – still young enough to build a franchise around, yet definitely experienced enough to lead a team. Landing Durant would be an ideal situation for the Nets, whose outlook after this season looks bleak with no draft picks, old players who are just getting older, and important expiring contracts whose futures with the team are uncertain.

If the Nets want to snag Durant, they need to stay competitive for the next two years. This is going to be difficult with the current roster and lack of picks. If Brooklyn is serious about wanting Durant to sign with them, they need to begin making the appropriate moves immediately. You don't just go out and sign the second-best player in the league on a whim – you need a gameplan. The Nets quest for Durant, if it's to be a serious one, needs to be well thought out and over the long term.

Meanwhile, KD continues to scorch opponents left and right. The Thunder roll into Brooklyn looking for revenge against a Nets team that has to be angry after blowing it against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night. This contest will be a meaningful one for both Durant as well as the Nets.

Interestingly, Durant has only scored 30 or fewer points twice so far in 2014 – one of those two games is when the Nets began a hot streak of their own, when Durant was held to "only" 24 points.

Will the Nets give a repeat performance and put an end to Durant's dominance tomorrow night? Will they really target him in 2016? Only time will tell.

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