The Achilles injury that Kevin Durant sustained during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals on Monday has put his professional career as well as financial future in doubt. Despite the tragic news, five teams are still interested in signing Durant with maximum contracts when he becomes a free agent in summer, if he chooses to opt out of the final year of his contract, according to David Aldridge from The Athletic.

According to Aldridge's sources, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets are all ready to compete for Durant with max contracts.

One of the main reasons why these teams are willing to bet on Durant has a lot to do with his playstyle and physical condition. His 2.11m figure, skillful off-ball plays and accurate shooting help Durant not rely much on his speed like small guards or depend a lot on strength like big centers. Though his recent injury will no doubt hurt his explosiveness, Durant is 30 years old and is already changing his game by reducing ball possession and penetration and replacing them with more post-up offense and catch and shoot.

"It's not like he's gonna fall from the top player in the league to number 50, even with the Achilles. Maybe he falls into the top 10. I still think KD is a guy that's going to score 20, 25 a game," Aldridge said, quoting a league executive.

Of the five teams, the Golden State can make the biggest offer of a five-year, 220-million-U.S.-dollar deal, compared with the four-year, 141-million-U.S.-dollar options from the other four teams at most. Nonetheless, the Golden State also have the worst salary pressure of all five teams as they need to decide how much they want to pay Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney. Giving anyone a big contract can easily squeeze the team's finances.

The Lakers have both enough space on their payrolls and LeBron James, who is still a top-10 player of the league. Besides, James can handle the ball in most possessions like he used to, while Durant plays more as a finisher. The problem with the purple and gold is with their management – no player wants to join the team's political drama.

The Clippers and the Nets share similar resources: good salary space and great potentials. Their problems include shortage of real super stars and, although they are in the big markets of LA and New York, neither the Clippers nor the Nets are the biggest stars of the city.

Although the Knicks have more than enough salary space to offer max contracts and enjoy the No.1 market in the NBA, they are probably the last choice for Durant. Firstly, the team is being rebuilt from scratch and they have been doing so for five years. Second, journalists in New York are known for being unkind, especially to their own players. Considering Durant's sensitive character, he may not want to stay in a city where he has to quarrel with local press all the time.