Report: Thunder's Kevin Durant to meet with Warriors this week

The Warriors are aggressive heading into the start of free agency as they look to lure Kevin Durant and form a star-studded, offensive juggernaut of a team after falling short of the NBA championship.

Durant is scheduled to meet with the Warriors in New York on Friday, according to ESPN, which reported that the former MVP and seven-time All-Star would first meet with the incumbent Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

The San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers reportedly are also expected to meet with Durant during the free agency period, which begins at 9:01 p.m. PDT Thursday.

If Durant, 27, decides to part ways with the Thunder, an organization for which he has played all nine seasons, the Warriors can offer an opportunity for him to win a championship for the first time alongside All-Stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

The Warriors losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals opened the door to Durant joining a team that looked to him to get back onto the championship stage.

Thompson, who is playing on USA Basketball's Olympic team with Durant, strongly supported his potential addition in an interview with SiriusXM earlier this week.

“Obviously he's a player who will improve any franchise tenfold, so I'm going to try to be in his ear saying, ‘We would love to have him in our organization,' ” Thompson said. “He would make everybody better, obviously. I think he's got great character. But I'm also going to give him space. I know he's a very smart man, and he'll make the right, educated decision. But it would be an honor to play with him. I couldn't imagine the shooting we could have with him on our team. It would be very deadly, to say the least.”

A 6-foot-9 forward who thrives in a free-flowing offense and from beyond the arc, Durant presents a matchup nightmare for any opponent, and the Warriors have long hoped for the opportunity to sign him.

To realize this vision, the Warriors appear to be willing to break up a team that won a record-setting 73 games and came one win away from a second straight championship.

To sign Durant, the Warriors would likely have to part with their eight free agents in order to clear room under the salary cap, including restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. Veterans Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala could also become trade candidates.

Bogut has expressed his hopes to remain with the Warriors, and three times during Barnes' interview with SiriusXM, he spoke of his desire to reach agreement on another contract with the team that drafted him.

Asked about Durant, Barnes said, “The game is a business. Franchises are going to go out, and they're going to pursue the best talent, and that's what they have to do, but that doesn't direct my focus anywhere. My first objective is to re-sign, and if that doesn't happen, then it's to go somewhere else, and the chips fall where they may at that point.”

If Durant decides to stay in Oklahoma City, the Warriors could pivot and pursue free-agents big men such as Pau Gasol, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Hassan Whiteside.

But it's Durant who is the big fish in free agency that could have the Warriors moving mountains to get it done despite all of that previous success.

“Over the last four years, we built something great,” Barnes said. “We won a championship. We have a great group of guys, and we have great chemistry, so that's the first objective. But if that can't happen, then you know, just a place where I can go and just develop my game. I put a lot of time in at work in the gym, and just a situation where I can grow and do that but also win. I'm used to that after the last four years.”

OFFERS OUT TO BARNES, EZELI

The Warriors have extended qualifying offers to forward Harrison Barnes and center Festus Ezeli.

The moves made Wednesday mean Barnes and Ezeli will be restricted free agents in July and the Warriors will have the right to match any offer sheet they sign with another team.

Golden State didn't extend qualifying offers to guard Ian Clark and forward James Michael McAdoo, making them unrestricted free agents.

The 24-year-old Barnes averaged a career-best 11.7 points to go with 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists last season. Barnes was also recently named to the U.S. Olympic team.

The 26-year-old Ezeli set career-highs with 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.