The Kevin Durant rumors are not going to disappear this season no matter what the Oklahoma City Thunder star tells the media. Everyone is fully aware that Durant can become a free agent next summer and teams will be lining up to try and get a meeting in hopes that he is targeting a new team. Most recently, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith took to "First Take" to say that Durant was favoring the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency and the former MVP is setting the record straight.
Durant is making it clear that Smith is "lying" when he said that the star wanted to go to the Lakers in free agency. Durant told the media following a practice via ESPN.com, "I don't talk to Stephen A. Smith at all. Nobody in my family, my friends -- they don't talk to Stephen A Smith. So he's lying. If you ask me a question, I'll talk about them. But like I said before, I have people who I talk to about everything, and I know for a fact they didn't talk to him, so he's making up stories."
While Durant is stressing that he is not going to the Lakers, is Kobe Bryant planning his exit as well? The veteran is set to return to the court following three season-ending injuries as he enters the final year of his contract. Bryant has been denying that he is already planning his retirement. If he does return for another season with a new contract, fans would be wise to not expect that it would be with the New York Knicks since Phil Jackson is there. Bryant stressed his dedication to Los Angeles.
"A lot of players want to go to different teams or contend to win championships," Bryant said, via ESPN.com. "I'm a Laker, man. I'm a Laker for better or worse."
The Lakers are not thinking about who is coming and going in the future. They are simply focused on seeing what kind of roster they will have this year as young stars prepare to help carry the team. In their first preseason game, the starting lineup consisted of D'Angelo Russel, Julius Randle, Bryant, Jordan Clarkson and Roy Hibbert. That is three players either entering their rookie season or with just one year of experience under their belt. Head coach Byron Scott liked the mix of two point guards rather than putting in Nick Young and Wes Johnson into the mix. It appears that Scott favors Russell as the starting point guard regardless of whether or not Clarkson is on the court. Bryant made it clear that he liked what he saw from the roster.
"There's a lot of upside," Bryant said, via ESPN.com. "I think the pieces compliment each other extremely well. It's just a matter of getting in a rhythm, getting some of these games underneath my belt a little bit."
