Have You Heard the One Where Kevin Durant Joins the Spurs This Offseason?

Currently locked in a tough second-round battle against the San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Durant may find himself in the same matchup next season. Wearing a different uniform. A black one.

Yes, there’s a plausible scenario where, instead of battling them, he’s lined up alongside two-time Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard, All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and future Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich.

As the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant’s current squad, fight toward the Western Conference Finals, the 27-year-old forward might be noticing how much easier his job could be if he just switched sides. Prior to San Antonio’s Game 1 blowout, he’d already commented on Popovich, per Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News:

Having a very good coach is probably the most important thing in this league. You can have all the great players you want, but you have to have somebody to orchestrate it. That’s what they have. They have great players, but they also have a great coach to put them in position to utilize all their strength as individuals and make it come together as a team.

Reading between the lines isn’t particularly difficult, especially on the heels of an earlier report that the former MVP could be headed to San Antonio when he hits free agency. 

“San Antonio has rebuilt its dynasty, but rival executives believe the Spurs will explore ways of adding Durant to the mix, and the franchise’s culture makes it intriguing,” Chris Mannix explained for The Vertical in March. And he’s not the only one. 

ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe joined in during the late stages of April: “The Spurs buzz [about Durant] is ascendant in a way that is eerily similar to what happened last January at the D-League Showcase, when a half-dozen unconnected team executives warned me over the span of a few days that LaMarcus Aldridge would bolt from Portland for San Antonio.” 

Exploring and generating buzz is all the Spurs can do at this stage. Right now, the organization’s primary focus is beating Durant rather than signing him. But there are indeed ways of adding the dynamic scorer into the fold for the 2016-17 season, and that has to terrify the rest of the Association. 

How It Happens

Per USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, the projected salary cap for the upcoming campaign will stand at $92 million. Meanwhile, the Spurs could have up to $84.6 million assigned to incumbent players, per the salary figures from Basketball-Reference.com that you can see displayed below (player options in black, team option in yellow):

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According to Larry Coon’s all-knowing FAQ on the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, a max contract for a player such as Durant with nine years of professional experience takes up 30 percent of the cap. We’re still working with approximate numbers here, but that equates to about $27.6 million. 

That figure and the $84.6 million already owed go a bit over the cap, so something has to give. Fortunately, the Spurs have a bit of wiggle room with option-laden contracts.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and David West could all opt out of the final seasons on their current deals, and that would save San Antonio $9,992,630. The team could also turn …

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