Could a Sonics return bring Kevin Durant back to Seattle?

Basketball fans in the Emerald City received some long-awaited news Monday about the potential return of the Seattle Sonics.

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported the NBA is set to vote on exploring Seattle and Las Vegas as expansion franchises at its Board of Governors meeting March 24-25, which Charania later told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy he expects will pass. If the vote does go through, it gives the league the power to start the bidding process on the potential expansion franchises.

ESPN’s Shams says Seattle Sonics NBA expansion expected to pass

Charania reported the target date for the expansion additions is the 2028-29 season, which is where things get interesting for Seattle.

The 2028-29 season also aligns with when former Sonics star Kevin Durant will hit free agency. The 16-time All-Star and four-time scoring champion’s current contract with the Houston Rockets expires after the 2027-28 campaign.

Durant, who the Sonics picked No. 2 overall in the 2007 draft, would be 40 years old at the start of the 2028-29 season, but there is reason to believe he’ll still be capable of making an impact at that age. At 37 years old this season, he’s averaging 25.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 51.4% from the field and 40.2% from 3-point range. He also just made his third straight All-Star team.

Durant has remained connected to Seattle since winning Rookie of the Year with the Sonics during their final season in 2007-08. When Durant played a preseason game for the Golden State Warriors in Seattle in 2018, he wore a throwback Shawn Kemp jersey during starting lineup introductions and took the microphone to address the crowd. And on multiple occasions, he has stated he wants to be a part of an NBA return to Seattle, though he’s mentioned that being in an ownership role.

A return by Durant would be a full circle moment. The future Hall of Famer was ripped away from the city before his career blossomed into what it is now. He is one of just two active players remaining in the league who played for the Sonics. The other is 39-year-old Jeff Green, another 2007 first-rounder, who is now a little-used bench player and will likely have retired by the time of the Sonics’ potential return.

Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk asked FOX Sports play-by-play voice Adam Amin, who also calls Chicago Bulls games for the Chicago Sports Network, about a potential reunion between Durant and the Sonics on Tuesday.

“I think that’s a wonderful thought, even if it’s a one-year deal or whatever it has to be just to have the last piece essentially of Seattle professional men’s basketball come back and maybe be a part of it,” he said.

Report: NBA sets date to vote on a Seattle Sonics expansion team

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