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Report: Hawks want meeting with Durant, considering run at Howard

Thomas B. Shea / USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks are gearing up for a big offseason.

While head coach and president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer has made it a priority to try and re-sign All-Star forward Al Horford, the Hawks are also hoping to land a face-to-face meeting with top free agent Kevin Durant, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.

Durant is reportedly scheduled to meet with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers once free agency opens July 1. One source tells Stein that Grant Hill, who is part of the Hawks ownership group, is expected to lead Atlanta's pitch to Durant's representatives.

Should the Hawks strike out on Durant, sources tell Stein that the Hawks are strongly weighing the possibility of making an offer to unrestricted free agent Dwight Howard. The All-Star center declined his $23-million player option with the Houston Rockets last week.

Atlanta has already gotten a head start on its offseason moves, shipping point guard Jeff Teague to the Indiana Pacers as part of a three-team deal that saw the Hawks receive the No. 12 pick (Taurean Prince) in the 2016 draft.

Mike Muscala is the Hawks' lone restricted free agent, while Horford, Kent Bazemore, Kris Humphries, and Kirk Hinrich are all unrestricted.

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