Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant had a rough ride last year battling a cumbersome Jones fracture in his foot and playing only 27 games all season. But that hasn't stopped teams around the league eyeing the explosive scorer even before he hits free agency. And while Durant has previously said that he doesn't want to discuss free agency until its time, Stephen A. Smith stirred the Durant free agency rumor pot again with his comments on last week's "First Take."

"One of the things I've been hearing, and I don't believe it's going to happen at all: I know for a fact that Carmelo Anthony has been and will continue to recruit Kevin Durant until the cows come home," Smith said. "I'm also hearing that Kevin Durant is giving the New York Knicks consideration. And there are people in the NBA circles who have joked around the possibility [that] Kobe Bryant, if not wanted by the Lakers, could end up playing in New York for a year with Melo and Durant."

"I can't see it, to be quite honest with you. But who knows? Anything's possible because Phil [Jackson] is in New York for Kobe and then there's Durant and Melo, who would be there for anybody if that were to happen," Smith added.

Meanwhile, a recent column by Grantland's Zach Lowe highlights how the Miami Heat will definitely be a player once the Durant free agency kicks into gear. Lowe notes that the Heat could open up as much as $45 million in cap room next offseason, and that it would be a safe bet that Heat president Pat Riley will do everything he can to set the team up for the possibility of adding Durant.

Riley, though, would also have to deal with the free agency of Hassan Whiteside, as well as the possibility of Dwyane Wade opting back into free agency after next season.