Kevin Durant has decided to drop out of Team USA Basketball and this comes as the OKC Thunder star is dealing with numerous responsibilities on and off the court and he said emotional and physical fatigue was the reason he is dropping out and it follows the loss of Paul George to a leg injury and also comes as rumors have already started about Durant and the Wizards in 2016 free agency.
According to ESPN.com, Durant said that he was simply tired and exhausted from this past season in the NBA and from winning the MVP award and he said he needs to take some time off to get ready for the upcoming season. The move of LeBron James to Cleveland has turned the psycho media sharks onto Durant, because now with Kevin Love and LeBron with the Cavaliers, he is the next superstar player with the chance to hit free agency and many have pointed to the Wizards as an option.
Washington is where Durant is from and he has spoken at great length about how much he loves being at home and also how much he loves his home city. Durant said that he wanted to take some time before getting back into things for the upcoming season and Marc Stein suggested on ESPN.com that Durant wants to focus hard on this season, as the window is closing for the Thunder to win a championship.
Durant is signed for two more years and Russell Westbrook and teammate Serge Ibaka are also signed for the next few years and Durant realizes that the window could be closing for the team. The Thunder have a chance to get back to the finals again after missing out this past season and with LeBron James going back to the Cavaliers, there is a good chance that they will be the team in the finals from the east. Durant is now an MVP winner and the pressure will only continue to build as they get closer to free agency. Durant will be the top player in the 2016 class and many wonder whether he could go to the Wizards.
The team has built itself back after years of being terrible and now they have a young core with John Wall and Bradley Beal and in two years they are preparing cap space to make a run at him. The Thunder obviously will try and sign him to a deal or to an extension before that happens, but after what James did with Miami and Cleveland over the past five years, anything could happen by that summer.
Durant has been one of the best players for Team USA and he may be around to play in the next Olympics after winning a gold medal in 2012. The team now has to make some additions with George and Durant out.
