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Kevin Durant says nice things about D.C. (and Oklahoma City too)

But the last part of this headline is totally meaningless.

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Andrew D. Bernstein/NBA

In 23 months, Kevin Durant will be a free agent. The Wizards have been fairly transparent in their desire to woo Durant back home, keeping as many short contracts on the books as possible to maintain the possibility of cap space. The entire league will pursue Durant, including the Thunder, who have a pretty good situation themselves. The chances that Durant actually comes to D.C. are slim. Yada yada yada.

Still, LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

YES YES IT WAS VERY CLASSY. SO CLASSY THAT OTHERS SHOULD BE CLASSY IN A SIMILAR WAY IN TWO YEARS, RIGHT?

Whatever la la la la la la la can't hear you la la la la la la.

YES DON'T BE NAIVE BEING NAIVE IS BAD AND NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE.

What's that? I only heard this:

"That whole city is a part of me. It's in my blood. I love going back home, seeing my family & playing there."

But really, I only heard this:

"Playing there."

Yup. That settles it.

I can't wait to keep doing this for the next 23 months. Embrace the chase.

UPDATE: Looks like John Wall had a few things to say as well, via USA Today.

"You just sit back and watch and see what happens, but (the Wizards' Durant-motivated moves) definitely lets him know that we want him around."

He's saying what the front office can't, and sounds like a man on board with their long-term strategy. Obviously it helps that they replaced Ariza in the short-term with a more than capable starter at a fraction of the cost, but future flexibility is the main selling point here.

And here's where All-Star appearances and playing for Team USA comes into play:

"He's like an older brother to me," Wall said. "He's happy to see the things I'm doing and what I'm doing for the city of DC, especially since that's where he's from. That's a big honor to me and an honor to him, so we enjoy it. We enjoy our conversations. We enjoy hanging out. We have our fun times."

...

"To be with one of the top two best players in the league, in my opinion, who can score at will and do whatever he wants (would be great)," Wall said. "You could have a Big Three with me, him and Brad (Beal), and I feel like that's what you need to win a championship now is a Big Three. It'd be great to have him back home."