The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract extension with the Warriors this summer but will have the option to turn down the second year of the deal in order to hit the open market once again in July.
And former NBA star Dahntay Jones believes his departure from the Bay Area is a matter of when, not if.
Discussing the future of the Warriors’ current starting line-up, Jones suggested Durant might seek an exit route from the reigning NBA champions.
“I think Steph is a lifer, I think Draymond [Green] may be a lifer. I don’t know if Klay [Thompson] is and I don’t think KD [Durant] is,” Jones told Colin Cowherd.
“I think New York is going to be the new hot spot next year because they have a great coach, the organisation is moving in the right direction.
“Their culture, that city, and what it could be… you have [Kristaps] Porzingis there, the kid [Kevin] Knox, you have a flexible roster. What brought LeBron to LA was, ultimately, the city, the lifestyle and the flexibility of what the roster could be rather than what it is.
“A lot of rosters are stuck in what they are right now and they don’t have that much flexibility.
“You look at the New York Knicks’ roster – the cap space you could have, you could play with who you want to play with. If he looks at the landscape next year and says ‘okay, Kyrie [Irving] is there, Porzingis is there, the kid Knox is good – and me. We could do it our own way.
“‘I could do things that way I want to, I’ve already dominated here [Golden State], I already have these businesses set up in Silicon Valley, they will follow me to New York. We could set something else up differently…’
“I think that [New York] is going to be the new hot spot, I think guys are going to look at that very seriously.”