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Durant eyeing potential Austin WNBA franchise

Kevin Durant could be part of an Austin, Texas, ownership group pursuing a WNBA expansion team, SBJ has learned, becoming the latest NBA player to leverage the league’s collective bargaining agreement that allows active players to buy up to 4% of an independent W franchise.

Almost two weeks ago, Jayson Tatum’s name surfaced as a potential partner with a separate group looking to bring a WNBA expansion team to St. Louis, Tatum’s hometown. Sources said Durant is in similar discussions with his own burgeoning group in Austin, where he attended the University of Texas for one season.

With the WNBA looking to expand to a 16th team for the 2027 or 2028 season — with a decision possibly arriving in the first quarter 2025 — Austin has emerged as a top candidate alongside Nashville and Philadelphia, with NBA owners in cities such as Charlotte, Houston, Denver, Cleveland, Orlando, Miami and Milwaukee also exploring bids. The Austin group is represented by former WNBA champion Fran Harris, who is leading the city’s capital raise but has not yet disclosed her lead investor. She would also neither confirm nor deny that Durant will be a minority partner.

“I have a team of people who are assisting in the cap raise,” Harris told SBJ. “We are at this point, putting together some strategic people in Austin, because sometimes when you’re putting a raise together, it’s not just about getting one big fish. It’s about who are the other people who are around the table…You kind of round it out with some usual suspects of people who might have attended the University of Texas and play in the NBA.”

Under Article XXIX Section 13 of the CBA, Durant would not be eligible to buy into a WNBA team owned by a current NBA owner, such as the N.Y. Liberty, Washington Mystics or Indiana Fever. But since Austin has no ties to the NBA, he would be free to invest there. Allen & Company is organizing the league’s expansion bids, with the 16th franchise expected to sell for $200M or higher. If Durant chipped in 4%, his investment would be roughly $8M.

The Suns all-star — who was unavailable for comment — already is a minority owner in two soccer clubs: the NWSL NJ/NY Gotham FC and the MLS Philadelphia Union. LeBron James and Steph Curry have hinted about pursuing WNBA franchises, as well.

Other known WNBA independent expansion candidates — besides Austin, Nashville and St. Louis — are Jacksonville and Kansas City. SBJ has learned that Des Moines, the hometown of Fever star Caitlin Clark, has had very informal discussions about pursuing a team at some point — not in this expansion round — but has no serious investors and may be priced out by the climbing $200M sales figure. The 15th WNBA franchise in Portland just paid $125M, which now appears to be a bargain.