Kevin Durant, Tony Allen

Kevin Durant can become a free agent after the 2016 season. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

(Sue Ogrocki)

NEW YORK — Kevin Durant won't be a free agent until the end of the 2016 season, but when he does, don't expect him to be blowing up Carmelo Anthony's phone.

Durant was asked during NBA All-Star Weekend Media Day whether he would solicit advice from Anthony on the free agency process. He told reporters that while he and Anthony are "good friends," he wants to go into the summer of 2016 without a lot of different voices in his head.

"In life, it's good to get advice, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you gotta go through it on your own, and sometimes you gotta experience it for yourself," Durant said. "Our situations may be different. To be honest I'm not really trying to think about that right now, we're in a tough grind-out season and we're looking forward to the second half of the season, and I don't want to take any distractions off my brothers in [Oklahoma City]. I'm laying my body out on the line for them, they're laying their body on the line for me and that's all that really matters."

Durant also didn't have much to offer on what he thought about the sorry state of New York City's two basketball teams, saying, "I don't really think about these teams."

Durant will obviously be highly sought after if he hits the open market, as the reigning MVP and a lethal scorer, but the fit next to Anthony in New York could be awkward. Both Durant and Anthony play the same position, and while the triangle offense that the Knicks run mitigates that to an extent, both players need the ball in their hands to be effective.

Still, the two players co-existed on the USA basketball team in 2012 that won a gold medal, so it's not inconceivable that they could make it work. Durant was asked whether any of his USA teammates talked about their free agency situations, possibly laying the groundwork for a recruiting pitch.

"We don't talk about basketball, we don't talk about teams, that's not what we do," he said. "Basketball's our life, we talk about it all the time. In that setting, we just try to build that bond, that brotherhood so we can go out there and win a gold medal, and I think the most important part is getting to know guys off the court. That's what we did. We never talked about teams, we might have talked about certain games in our careers, matchups and stuff like that, but recruiting and all that stuff, man, I'm sure your gonna hear from these guys, your gonna hear from everybody."

Whether he hears from Anthony or not, Durant's decision will be the storyline to watch going into the 2015-16 season.

Nick Powell may be reached at npowell@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpowellbkny. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.