Over the past weeks, Kevin Durant trade talks have been rampant.
However, with this latest statement from the Oklahoma City Thunder star, other teams' fans will be disappointed. Talking to ESPN.com's Royce Young, the four-time scoring champ said he'd rather be like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki.
He wants to stay with one NBA team for the rest of his career.
"I love it here, man. I love my teammates, I love the city, I don't really think about anywhere else. I hear it all the time, don't get me wrong, and once you hear it you're kind of like [looks up, thinking]. But for me, I love staying in the moment, and I'm one of those guys that would love to stick it out with one team my whole career," the 26-year old said, quashing current Kevin Durant trade rumors.
"Kobe [Bryant], Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki type. That's awesome. But you never know what the future holds sometimes and how teams may feel about you after a while, but I love it here and I would love to get my jersey retired here."
Talks of the possible Kevin Durant trade intensified last month. Tom Penn, former Portland Trailblazers vice-president and now an ESPN analyst, said Oklahoma City Thunder might opt to throw away their franchise players in the near future, no thanks to the increase play of All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.
"I think this burst from Westbrook makes it likelier - much more likely - that Durant ultimately gets traded next year," Penn said.
The analyst even compared the possible Kevin Durant trade scenario to what happened to James Harden in 2012.
"Sam Presti (OKC general manager) has proven that he does not ever want to lose anybody for nothing," Penn revealed. "He traded James Harden a year early to avoid a potential luxury tax problem a year later. The Kevin Durant drumbeat next year is going to be so loud ... he will not commit early to OKC because the rules are against that."
