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Washington Wizards: 5 Reasons Wizards Are Luring Kevin Durant

By Fimihan Oshin

Jan 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; A fan wears a Kevin Durant with a sign on the back prior to the start of the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards game at Verizon Center. Washington Wizards defeated New York Knicks 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; A fan wears a Kevin Durant with a sign on the back prior to the start of the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards game at Verizon Center. Washington Wizards defeated New York Knicks 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Wizards have planned to make a run at signing Kevin Durant for the past four years. Here are five reasons they desperately want Durant

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past four years, #KD2DC is becoming the sole movement for the Washington Wizards this offseason.

As you know, Kevin Durant is becoming the most coveted free agent this period where every team is fighting for his services. For the Wizards, their dream of getting KD dwindled after they missed the playoffs and showed no improvement following a successful playoff run.

Luckily for the Wizards, the Oklahoma City Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, making Durant’s future with the team uncertain.

Washington seemed to have no chance at luring Durant, but the series loss has given them and the fanbase some hope.

Here are five reasons why Washington is trying to sign Durant.

1. Gaining more media exposure and growing the team’s popularity

The Washington Wizards are the fourth most popular team in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area.

While the Washington football team is the most important team to the region and the Nationals and Capitals have their own superstars in Bryce Harper and Alex Ovechkin. The Wizards have failed to get that sort of star power.

According to the Washington Post, the Wizards’ television ratings went down 34 percent last season, which was the second highest in league and they went down three spots in attendance as well.

Bringing a superstar like Durant to town will make the Wizards a can’t-miss attraction in the city, and John Wall‘s star would grow.

Everybody loves Durant in the DMV and seeing the hometown kid playing for the home team will be a match made in heaven for the Washington Wizards.

2. A superstar to play along with John Wall

John Wall has already become a star in the league, making three straight All-Star games.

Even with his accomplishments and his commitment to the city, Wall is still getting less attention from media outlets.

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Signing Durant to play alongside Wall will give Washington a recognizable tandem for years and another go-to guy for the Wizards.

Wall has never played with another All-Star caliber player throughout his whole career and recently talked about the team’s need to sign another star.

A Durant, Wall and Bradley Beal trio could immediately lift the Washington Wizards to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Not only would Wall have another star player to share the court with, but it would be one of the greatest to ever step onto an NBA floor.

3. A familiar face leading the team

After the Washington Wizards parted ways with Randy Wittman and agreed to a five-year deal with Scott Brooks, fans started to speculate whether the team made the move just to entice Durant to come home.

Brooks coached Durant for seven seasons where he led the young Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012.

Durant found success in Brooks’ system, winning four scoring titles and the MVP in 2014.

Even with Brooks’ firing last season, Durant thanked his coach and gave him his full support. While it certainly doesn’t hurt to have that sort of familiarity between a free agent and head coach, Brooks’ purpose in Washington will be more than just to convince Durant to come home.

Brooks is considered one of the best player development coaches in the NBA. Durant recognizes that Brooks helped his future star teammates get better and could do the same with the young talent in Washington.

Washington’s core is supplemented with the likes of Kelly Oubre and Otto Porter. If they were to stick around and grow along side Durant and Co., the Washington Wizards would be much more than just a team with three star players.

4. Other free agents will hop on the ship

After LeBron James joined the Miami Heat, other free agents instantly began thinking about potentially signing with the team

Nowadays, it takes at least three stars for a team to win an NBA championship.

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All of the top contending teams have three players that either carried the team before or are capable of doing so.

Complementary free agents see that and want to be a part of the winning.

When LeBron joined the Heat, veterans Mike Miller, Mike Bibby, Zydrunas Illgauskas, James Jones, Eddie House and Juwan Howard all agreed to play for Miami.

Signing Durant will attract a lot of hungry veterans to join Washington because no player is going to miss a chance on playing with a super-talented team.

Last season we saw David West take a multi-million pay-cut just to play with the San Antonio Spurs. Players that are on their way out will want one more shot at realizing their dreams.

5. Washington will become a championship caliber team

Perhaps more disappointing than anything, the Washington Wizards failed to take advantage of the momentum they gained following two successful runs in the NBA Playoffs.

This offseason the Wizards have over $45 million in cap space where they have room to ink Kevin Durant to a deal and get others players to sign within the cap.

Signing a player like Durant will make the Wizards a huge threat in the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the verge of getting eliminated in the NBA Finals again and there are some question marks surrounding their team as well.

Next: Key to Wizards' Growth is Player Development

The East has become much more competitive and balanced, but there aren’t any contenders in the conference. If the Wizards – or any other team, for that matter – sign Durant, they would become a contender overnight.

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