NBA Free Agency 2019: Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have reportedly discussed joining same team

Gilbert McGregor

NBA Free Agency 2019: Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have reportedly discussed joining same team image

In a historically talented class, the consensus top two free agents are the Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant and the Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard.

MORE: Ranking the best free agent forwards

On the eve of the free agency period beginning, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne have reported that the two All-NBA forwards have had discussions about scenarios that would see them join forces as teammates.


Within the report, the two state that "for now, there are two clear possibilities for the two All-NBA forwards to sign into the same franchise -- the LA Clippers and New York Knicks."

The Clippers and Knicks are two of three teams that have created space to sign two players to max contracts; each team is on the short list of teams that Durant and Leonard are scheduled to meet with. The Nets, who have also created space for two max players, have largely been linked with Celtics All-Star guard Kyrie Irving and do not appear to be in play to sign both Durant and Leonard.

Durant (2017, 2018) and Leonard (2019) have won the past three NBA Finals MVP Awards. The two played together on "Team LeBron" at the 2019 NBA All-Star game and briefly faced off in a quarter of the 2019 NBA Finals before Durant went down with a ruptured Achilles.

Leonard, who has dealt with injury woes over the past two seasons, called Durant's injury 'devastating', adding that "I'm pretty sure he's going to attack each day and get better and come back strong."

Free agents can officially meet with teams on July 1.

 

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.