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Brandon Dill/Associated Press

Best Landing Spot: Golden State Warriors?

Durant's free-agency process was already going to be one of the biggest stories in the NBA this summer. His ruptured Achilles tendon added an element no one expected to the sweepstakes.

"My road back starts now!" Durant posted on Instagram following his surgery.

The question is: Where will the road be?

The Knicks are still interested in signing him.

"There are indeed some members of the organization who would consider offering Durant a contract this summer," Ian Begley of SNY wrote.

Ditto for the Nets.

"Durant's injury unlikely to impact Brooklyn's pursuit of him," NetsDaily's Anthony Puccio tweeted.

The Athletic's David Aldridge reported he still expected both Los Angeles teams to be in the mix, too.

Durant will have no shortage of suitors thanks to his remarkable career. He's 18th all time in regular-season wins over replacement through players' 12th seasons. He's also 18th all time in career playoff wins over replacement player.

But even with the basketball credit he's built up, the best outcome may be staying put.

As pointed out by ESPN's Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post, Durant just had a front-row seat to how the Warriors rehabbed DeMarcus Cousins from the same injury.

And prior to to the quad injury he suffered in the postseason, Cousins looked about as good as could be expected. His 3.6 box plus/minus with Golden State was better than his career 2.9, and his .151 win shares per 48 minutes were the second-best single-season mark of his career.

If, after seeing everything Boogie went through, Durant feels the Warriors would best handle his recovery, opting in to the final year of his deal for $31.5 million makes sense. Or perhaps another one-plus-one contract would give him the freedom to opt out again if he feels he's all the way back and would like his own team for 2020-21.

Again, Durant will have plenty of options. Maybe long-term security will be more important to him in the wake of this injury. And the Warriors are the only team the collective bargaining agreement allows to offer five years.

Worst Landing Spot: Any team that will rush his recovery

It's tough to imagine any team that would do that. Not in today's NBA. And not after we just saw what happened when Durant may have come back too early from another injury.

But wherever Durant goes, he should probably get some kind of assurance that he can take all the time he needs to get back to 100 percent.

This is an injury that can have a devastating impact on an NBA player's career. An abundance of caution is the best course.

All statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference or NBA.com unless otherwise noted.