Kevin Durant supported LeBron James' decision to opt out of his contract with the Miami Heat in order to become a free agent.

“I don’t know what the big deal is,” Durant said. “You know, as a player, I think that’s the best way to go about it. You can have all your options. It’s better for you as a player to opt-out, because you can get a market deal, you can get more years. You never know what will happen if you pass up on that. So I didn’t know what the big deal was. I’m sure it was a decision he made — something he was thinking about — for him and his family.”

Durant could become a free agent in 2016 and various fan bases -- including the Washington Wizards' -- are salivating over the prospect.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Durant told a small group of local reporters. “I don’t think anything that you guys criticize LeBron [about] is fair. He switched teams; he’s not the first guy to do it. He decided to opt out; he’s not the first guy to do it. Sometimes a lot of people criticize him a little bit too much for doing normal things, doing stuff that everybody has done. [Even] Tim Duncan went into free agency before. He got courted by quite a few teams. We’ll see what happens with me, but everybody’s done the same thing. He’s not the first.”

When asked how many requests Durant has received about a permanent stay in Washington, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward said: “I’ve been getting a lot lately. But everybody knows I love OKC and knows that I’m under contract right now. A lot of people ask me, but I just try to stay focused on today, and I’ll worry about that when I get there.”