Could Kevin Durant Really Come Back To The Warriors?

Bovada Sportsbook lists the Golden State Warriors as one of the teams that Kevin Durant could play for next season if he did not return to the Brooklyn Nets. Durant won two NBA Championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets had a rough ending to their 2022 season as they got swept in the first-round of the playoffs by Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. 

After the huge disappointment, a lot of noise has been made about the roster and the coaching staff. 

Recently, Bovada Sportsbook (via Odds Shark) revealed the betting odds for where Durant will play next season. 

Where will Kevin Durant play next season?

Nets -5000
Suns +1500
Mavericks +1600
Celtics +1800
Warriors +1800
Raptors +1800
Grizzlies +2000@BovadaOfficial

— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) May 30, 2022

The Nets are the heavy favorite (-5000), but the Warriors are listed as the third most likely team he could be traded to next season (tied with the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors at +1800). 

A trade is extremely unlikely, but Durant did play for the Warriors from 2017-19, and the team won two titles and made the Finals three times in a row. 

Could Durant actually return to Golden State?

The most obvious assumption is that there is absolutely no chance that he would ever go back to the Warriors. 

For starters, Durant is locked up for the foreseeable future, because he just signed a contract extension with the Nets this season. 

Therefore, the Warriors would have to make a trade with the Nets, and there is likely nothing the Warriors would offer that would entice the Nets. 

Kevin Durant signed as a Net until he’s 38. Kyrie Irving would be signed til he’s 35 with the extension.

Wild thinking that KD and Kyrie will likely retire as Brooklyn Nets.

— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) March 26, 2022

Durant joined the Nets in the summer of 2019, and he has played two seasons for the team (he was injured in his first season).  

In those two seasons, the Nets have failed to make it out of the second-round. 

With the Warriors, Durant won his first (and only) two championships, and also won two Finals MVP Awards.

The 12-time NBA All-Star did everything he was supposed to do with the Warriors, and now he is in a position where he can bring a Nets franchise to its first ever NBA Championship. 

While it's fun to think about Durant returning to the Warriors, it's likely something that never happens.