http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/05/06/will-kevin-durant-leave-thunder-other-teams-reportedly-believe-decision-hinges-on-spurs-series/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitterSo it seems that everyone is expecting the Spurs/OKC series to be the ultimate gauge for Durant's decision this offseason. If they lose to the Spurs, many feel that he'll almost assuredly walk. On the other hand, advancing to the conference finals would seemingly keep him in OKC on a 1 + 1 deal this summer, no matter what happened the rest of the way.
I do think Durant walks if they lose this series, but I'm not sold on the fact that winning this series keeps him in OKC no matter what happens the rest of the way. If they lose convincingly in five or so games to the Warriors next round, that's just as much of a gut-check as losing this series.
Though it does highlight the importance of the Spurs winning this series to create the best environment for Durant leaving.
http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/05/06/report-spurs-plan-to-pursue-kevin-durant-as-hard-as-warriors-do/In other news, SAS is also apparently set to chase Durant as hard as GSW is, though it'd take some real cap magic for them to ultimately nab him.
I'm not really worried about GSW getting Durant, because I think that is career suicide for Durant to join them (3 All-Stars, 2-time MVP, best regular season team in history, probable repeat champions, etc.). He'd ultimately lose status as a top-3 player in this league, and he very well could end up a third option in GS. I think that'd really hurt his legacy in the league.
SA, on the other hand, worries me a bit if they could ultimately find space for him in the cap. It's close to his college home (UT), and it wouldn't hurt his legacy as much due to him probably being the number one option if he goes there. It's also a team culture, environment, and coaching/management that rivals us, and they're currently set up better with KL and LMA. However, like I said it'd take some real cap magic to work out, and there's some real positional concerns there with KL and LMA already at the 3 and 4.
I think being in the Eastern Conference and the ability to have 2 max free agents helps us versus SA, along with our ridiculous assets that we can always use to better the team. Also, it's also hard seeing him joining a team after a contentious series against them that ultimately ended their season.
Let's just hope for a contentious series where the Spurs ultimately beat OKC and create some bad blood with Durant along the way!