They say you can always go home, right? While that may be true, not everyone is too keen on returning to their old stomping grounds. According to Yahoo Sports, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant is not looking forward to going back to Washington.
According to The Vertical’s Chris Mannix, the former league MVP has no intentions on playing for the Wizards, who just hired Durant’s former head coach in Scott Brooks, because of the off court pressures that come with playing so close to where he grew up.
Durant isn’t bound for Washington, friends say, because … it’s Washington, it’s home, and, like so many athletes, Durant isn’t all that keen on returning to play in the city in which he grew up. Friends, family – some real, some claiming to be – all come out of the woodwork in those situations, and Durant, who has tightened his inner circle considerably in recent years, isn’t interested in dealing with them. His lone trip to D.C. this season was stressful, league sources told The Vertical, reinforcing to friends that wherever Durant signs next summer, Washington won’t be it.
That sounds pretty definitive, if it is the case. But think about it for a second, if he were to go back to Washington, not only would he have to deal with the pressure of trying to prove himself as an all-time great player, but would also be dealing with the additional weight on his shoulders of trying to win a title for the city that he grew up in.
Teams that are still reportedly in the running are Golden State, San Antonio, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston.