The San Antonio Spurs may be locked in a battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the moment but while they try to advance to the western conference finals, the Spurs are also paying very close attention to KD himself and privately have hopes of having him on their side next year.

@IamJoeSports

It’s no secret that KD will become a free agent on July 1st and it’s also no secret that every team in the NBA likely wishes they could have him. Only a handful will actually have a realistic shot at making it happening though between the money and the situation team wise he is looking for.

The Warriors continue to be mentioned the most when it comes to a possible realistic suitor for KD, as well as the Celtics but the Spurs are also throwing their hat in the ring and are already doing things behind the scenes to start the process of making the money part work out.

Now, clearly the Thunder also have a great chance at retaining KD and it’s still hard to see him parting ways with Russ when they are perennial threats to win the title each year anyway but Durant will definitely at least listen to teams like the Spurs.

ESPN’s Marc Stein reported the following:

The sure thing, at this stage, is that the Spurs — like the Warriors — are primed for the chase. Like Pat Riley and the Miami Heat last summer with Aldridge, San Antonio wants to book the face-to-face chance to pitch Durant in early July 1 … and then worry about where the cap space comes from.

These are, after all, the new Spurs. After shunning big-ticket free agency for more than a decade in the wake of their unsuccessful run at Jason Kidd in the summer of 2003, Gregg Popovich was positively Riley-esque last summer in his pursuit of Aldridge to partner with Kawhi Leonard and set them up as co-heirs to the two decades of elite basketball sustained with Tim Duncan as the Spurs’ focal point.

That will be very scary for the rest of the league but then again pretty much anywhere Durant plays, that team is an instant threat. Putting him on those Warriors or Spurs rosters though will mean nightmares for the NBA. As of right now though, KD is trying to prove he might not need to go anywhere to win a title.