Report: Durant was recruited by Warriors players all season

If Kevin Durant decides to take his talents to the Bay Area to join the 73-win Golden State Warriors as an unrestricted free agent, it would perhaps be the result of several recruitment pitches dating back to early in the regular season.

The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski noted during his most recent podcast that members of the Warriors roster were getting into the four-time scoring champion's ear in an effort to convince him to sign on the dotted line this summer.

"Here's the thing that's interesting about Golden State - their players have been recruiting Kevin Durant all year. And it goes back to early in the season when the Thunder were struggling," Wojnarowski said. "And I don't know if Golden State saw them as a peer; I don't know that they saw them as a threat ... Kevin Durant, just like he was hearing from guys in Boston, Washington, different places - he was hearing from guys on the Warriors about, 'Hey, you can come help take the pressure off of Steph Curry. We need you.' This is when they were running off win after win after win."

"They had him on their mind. He's been on their mind. And it appealed to him. And some of it was text messages, it's a lot of that. But the communication with some of the players in Golden State and Kevin, that's just not just starting now."

The Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder engaged in an epic seven-game series during the postseason, with Golden State overcoming a 3-1 deficit to advance to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row.

Such a devastating outcome won't deter Durant from possibly aligning himself with the very team which cost him his opportunity at hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy, though. In fact, Durant will reportedly meet with the Warriors in New York on July 1, one day after he sees the Thunder on June 30.

The San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and Miami Heat are all reportedly scheduled to have meetings with the nine-year pro as well.

- with h/t to CSBBayArena.com