Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said the local NBA franchise “put Oklahoma on the map every night” in the playoffs. She then promised to put the Oklahoma City Thunder’s most popular player in her cabinet if he signs a contract with the team.
“If Kevin Durant thinks about leaving, which I hope he doesn’t — Oklahoma loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Oklahoma—but if he’ll stay, I’ll make him a Cabinet person for health and fitness on my Cabinet,” Fallin told the Oklahoma Press Association to amused applause over the weekend.
NBA teams with cap space make a run this offseason at Durant, who tops this year’s class of free agents. Durant’s hometown Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat both likely make a run at the forward.
The 27-year-old looks for a max contract and a team with a chance to win it all, and the Thunder fit into the latter category better than the Wizards, Heat, or many other suitors. Durant, the recipient of the 2013-2014 NBA MVP Award, sign a sneaker deal with Nike in 2014 worth as much as $300 million. So, he might want a ring more than the max money.
Still, Fallin acknowledges that money, something of which her cabinet positions don’t pay much, matters here. She quipped of her offer, “It might not be as attractive as a couple of million dollars.”