Kevin Durant destroys that Lakers free agency rumor

There's been a rumor floating around that Kevin Durant is leaning toward joining the Los Angeles Lakers once he hits free agency in the summer of 2016.  The rumor was lit aflame by Stephen A. Smith, who tossed out a lob that Durant is looking at a relocation to Los Angeles. That pass went into the crowd, hit a fan, and KD wasn't nice about it:

Kevin Durant on the Lakers rumors: "I don't talk to Stephen A Smith at all. No one in my family, my friends do. So he's lying."

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 2, 2015

Smith isn't the only person to have the Lakers in the running for Durant, though, as CBS Sports' Ken Berger wrote in July that L.A. would be "in the mix" for Durant. As we've learned over and over with these situations, though, there's next to no reason to speculate on what a top-tier free agent might do. Look no further than Kevin Love not even taking a meeting with the Lakers despite several well-sourced reports indicating the franchise would have an opportunity to make a pitch.

Los Angeles will have the cap space needed to make that kind of splash in free agency, but before a single preseason game has tipped off, it's a Mr. Fantastic-level stretch to project Durant to the purple and gold. Don't get a custom KD Lakers jersey just yet, folks.