When Kevin Durant announced his withdrawal from Team USA due to fatigue last week, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo also mentioned a "contractual situation" as being a factor in the NBA MVP quitting the squad.

Although Colangelo didn't expound upon the quote, it's meaning was instantly analyzed. Now, according to a report from SheridanHoops, Jay Z is the one to blame for KD skipping out on Team USA and the FIBA World Cup experience.

According to Chris Sheridan, Durant spent last Wednesday at the headquarters of UnderArmour in Baltimore. KD's deal with Nike expires September 30 and Hov is reportedly pushing Durant to not re-up with the swoosh and sign with UA for a reported $325 million over 10 years instead, similar to the way he reportedly got the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar to drop Gatorade for Sparkling Ice last month, just a year after Durant signed with his Roc Nation Sports agency.

“It’s like Jay Z is determined to do a scorched earth negotiation with everyone Kevin Durant is currently aligned with, and they aren’t doing him any favors,” one source close to Durant told SheridanHoops. 

Sitting out from Team USA action would ensure that Durant doesn't suffer a heartbreaking injury the way Paul George did earlier this month via a compound leg fracture. Can the reported $325 million offer from UnderArmour be the "contractual situation" that Colangelo was referring to?

If that is indeed true, then a strong case can be made that Durant will be leaving Oklahoma City for the Washington Wizards in 2016, when he's a free agent. Playing with the Wizards would allow KD to return to his hometown of Washington, D.C., and give him proximity to UnderArmour headquarters if he decides to ink such a mammoth offer.

It's also important to point out that the Wizards did hire David Adkins as their player development assistant last month. Adkins was an assistant at Montrose Christian in Maryland, having helped coach a teenage KD.

Hmm...

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