As if Kevin Durant saying he liked the city of Boston, combined with the obvious fact GM Danny Ainge would love to pitch Durant as a free agent, didn’t give Celtics fans unrealistic levels of hope that Durant might choose to come there this summer, we now have this.
The Thunder’s thrashing of the shorthanded Celtics was broadcast on ESPN, and in an interview with them Durant expressed his admiration for the Celtics’ tradition. ESPN tweeted this out.
"The tradition of being a Boston Celtic is second to none." - Kevin Duranthttps://t.co/zJigxlRlYe
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 17, 2016
In case the video isn’t working, here are KD’s full comments.
“You can feel the tradition walking in here. You see all the (Celtics’ legends) plastered on the walls as you walk into the locker room. The tradition of being a Boston Celtic is second to none. So it’s amazing playing here. The fans, they’re very energetic and they cheer for their team. It’s amazing to see as a player, to have fans that care about the game so much. It’s an amazing sports town and they have a great team to cheer for.”
Those fans started a “come to Boston” chant for Durant during the game.
It’s impossible to predict what Durant will do this summer as a free agent; even Durant doesn’t know. The buzz around league circles is he may well stay in Oklahoma City (possibly with an opt-out in a year, like LeBron James did with Cleveland), but if Durant leaves Golden State is seen as the front-runner. After that there is a drop off. The bottom line is if KD decides to leave the Thunder, 29 other teams will be lined up to make their pitch.
In that scenario, KD could do a lot worse than Boston. But Celtics’ fans may not want to get their hopes too high.
