Now that Kevin Durant’s decision to form the NBA’s newest super team is done, the log jam of teams awaiting his fate are now springing into action.
Here is a look at some of the latest rumours and speculation from around the NBA:
Dwyane Wade might be taking his talents to northeast Ohio!?!?
The juciest rumour of them all involves the possibility of Wade and LeBron James reuniting. For their part, the Miami Heat recovered from missing out on Kevin Durant by offering Wade a reported two year $20-million-dollar per year deal, an offer that he can weigh against opportunities with other teams.
Wade’s wife, actress Gabrielle Union, has been vocal this offseason about the lack of respect for her husband. Now she’s started favouriting tweets in relation to the lack of loyalty of ownership towards players.
There were rumours that King James boarded a private jet with Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and his former Miami Heat teammate and good friend, Wade. Could James be looking to build his own big four in “the Land”? The Miami Heat, it’s believed, disrespected Wade by making him wait until after they were sure they couldn’t land Durant before starting negotiations, and Complex explains how the flight path of Dan Gilbert’s plane creates the best NBA free agency speculation.
Of note: The son of Cavaliers’ colour commentator Austin Carr said it was a done deal so take that for what it’s worth…
Either way it seems the Milwaukee Bucks are out of the mix. David Aldridge tweeted that Wade has cancelled his meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the Bucks.
Thunder turn their efforts toward re-signing Russell Westbrook
Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti now has a big decision to make. After losing one all-star, he can’t afford to watch the other leave next summer in the same fashion. Brian Windhorst of ESPN is reporting that if Russell Westbrook isn’t willing to sign a contract extension, Presti will field offers to trade him.
Presti has done similar maneuvers in the past with James Harden and Serge Ibaka, deciding to get value back a year early rather than trying to trade them at the last second when he has no leverage. Or worse: watching them walk for nothing.
Presti spoke in depth about the ramifications of Durant’s OKC exit to Sam Amick of USA today.
Dirk: Mav for life?
Dirk Nowitzki was a player rumoured to be in the Golden State Warriors sights if they missed out on Durant. Now, it seems Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks have used the same framework of the Heat deal offered to aging legend Wade in order to keep Dirk in Dallas for the rest of his career. Marc Stein is reporting that Dirk will sign for two years and $40 million dollars making him a Maverick until he’s 40 years old.
In other news…
Another international big man made his decision. To the likely dismay of Toronto Raptors fans Pau Gasol tweeted out in two languages to confirm reports that he’s joining the San Antonio Spurs.
Elsewhere, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid and Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas had opposing views on what the new Warriors lineup means to the video gaming culture of NBA.
Also, after hinting at the notion to TMZ, there could be a chance forward David Lee returns to the Bay area to help fill out a now nonexistent Warriors bench.