The Hawks can't hope to sign the superstar player that is essential to making them a championship contender unless they can talk to one who is available to sign with them. Kevin Durant is an available superstar, or at least he will be when free agency opens on Friday, but the Hawks apparently won't get a chance to talk to him.
Various reports say Durant will grant meetings this week with his current team, the Thunder, plus the Warriors, Spurs, Celtics, Clippers and Heat. The Hawks have the ability to sign Durant but they didn’t make his cut. We are used to this by now.
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Dwight Howard is the only superstar player in recent years I can remember granting an audience with the Hawks. That was back when Howard still was considered a player who can make a team a contender. It may have been a courtesy by Howard for his hometown team but at least the Hawks got the chance to make their case.
Not so with Durant. There is no way LeBron James is leaving the Cavs so Durant is the only franchise-changing player available in free agency this summer . And "available" might be a stretch because Durant has lots of incentives to stay with the Thunder.
The Thunder just lost in seven games to the Warriors in the West finals. They have another superstar, Russell Westbrook, under contract. And by calculation of USA Today's Sam Amick, Durant can earn $227 million over the next six seasons with the Thunder compared to the $175 million he can get by signing elsewhere.
But Durant is meeting with teams other teams so he's presumably open to the possibility of signing with them. Even if Durant doesn’t sign with those teams now they’ll get to establish a relationship with him. That can only help those teams if, as expected, Durant signs a one-year deal with an option with the Thunder and can become a free agent again next summer.
It's no knock on the Hawks that they won't get to meet with Durant (it is, however, a bad look for the Lakers that they won't). As an organization the Hawks aren't on the same level as the Warriors, Spurs or Heat but they are credible. They are building a $50 million practice facility with an upgraded sports medicine operations there. This city has a lot to offer NBA players.
That's apparently not enough for Durant. It's just another reminder of how hard it is to get a top 10 player to leave another team to join yours. It’s why being bad enough to pick high in the draft lottery and then being lucky enough to get the right ping-pong ball and pick the right prospect (if there is one) still is the most common way to acquire a superstar.
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