4 'Wild Card Teams' Who Fell Short in Kevin Durant Sweepstakes

While the Houston Rockets won the spoils (term used loosely) in the Kevin Durant Sweepstakes, and the runner-up Miami Heat, and other finalists San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves came up short, there were four other "wild card teams" who also were spurned in their attempts to put together a trade for the soon-to-be 37-year-old superstar.

It seems, in the end, however, those dark-horse entries, the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets didn't really stand a chance.

Per insider Shams Charania, even though Durant did not have a no-trade clause, he clearly still held all the cards in where he would be heading, at least within a cadre of a few destinations.

With Durant on an expiring, $54.7 million contract and eligible for a new two-year extension after the trade, the league's market for him clearly showed his ability to dictate whether he wanted to play for a franchise long term.

The Raptors made an impressive offer that included three starters, while the LA Clippers apparently had Norman Powell and Bogdan Bogdanovic as two of the pieces in their offer, but were reluctant to include center Ivica Zubac. No word on who the Cavs or Nuggets had on the table.

None of those teams were able to get much traction toward being title contenders this season, as the only teams with real potential toward that, the Cavaliers and Nuggets, were both eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

In the end, Durant went to the Houston Rockets, potentially changing the axis of power near the top of the Western Conference.

A 15-time All-Star, Durant has two championship rings and one MVP award, and is going into his 18th NBA season, now to be flanked by a young core of Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr.