HeadtoHeadFootball -
NFL

KD jokes about joining Rams; McVay: 'Anytime'
10:07 PM ET

  • Lindsey ThiryESPN

    Close

    • Covered Rams for two years for Los Angeles Times
    • Previously covered the Falcons
    • Has covered the NBA and college football and basketball

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Kevin Durant, your spot on the next championship-caliber team is waiting.

Welcome to Los Angeles.

No, not the Lakers.

We’re talking about the Rams.

On Monday, a day after Durant expressed admiration in an Instagram Stories video for defensive tackle Aaron Donald and a desire to join the Los Angeles Rams, coach Sean McVay said he certainly had a role in mind for the 6-foot-9, 240-pound two-time NBA champion.

1 Related

“I bet he’d be pretty dangerous in the red zone on some of those jump balls,” McVay said, smiling.

The Rams are coming off a 34-0 shutout of the Arizona Cardinals and are 2-0, as talk of a Super Bowl continues to grow louder.

The Rams feature one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL, with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Donald and All-Pro’s Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Ndamukong Suh. The unit has already posted six consecutive shutout quarters this season.

As for the offense, reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley is tied for first in the league with four touchdowns, and the offense is averaging 33.5 points per game behind third-year quarterback Jared Goff (a lifelong Warriors fan).

But still, McVay said there’s room for one more superstar: Durant.

“If he thinks about wanting to do that, we’ll welcome him,” McVay said, chuckling. “He can come kick it with us anytime he wants.”

Soccer

Monaco target knockout stage, Jardim stresses Atletico consistency

Monaco – Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim admitted his current line up was not as fearsome as it once was, but that his players were hyped up with Atletico Madrid arriving for Tuesday’s Champions League clash.

In the 2016-2017 season Monaco beat Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund before losing to Juventus in the semi-finals, with club owner Dmitry Rybolovlev then selling a raft of stars headed by Kylian Mbappe to Paris Saint-Germain.

Portuguese handler Jardim was swift to recognise at a pre-match press conference that while his side had sold, Atletico had kept hold of stars such as French striker Antoine Griezmann.

“Our opponent has a depth of both talent and experience, but here there are new faces, anyone who follows football knows this,” said Jardim.

“You might easily imagine new players need time to settle, but my players have the ambition to become a great side and to do that quickly,” he said.

“For Tuesday against Atletico, if we keep this attitude and be more technically sound, the goal will be to win. To start the competition with a win and do everything to qualify.”

Monaco however have won just one game so far this season and have just five points from five Ligue 1 outings.

Monaco will now be hoping that their big guns – captain Radamel Falcao and fellow attackers Stevan Jovetic, Rony Lopes and Aleksandr Golovin – can return from injury in time for Atletico.

One of Monaco’s recent recruits the 21-year-old German defender Benjamin Henrichs agreed with his new coach.

“Atletico have some good players, great individuals in terms of attacking prowess. I saw them play, we are going to have to defend compactly,” he said.

“Playing in the Champions League might be an honour in itself, but we are here to get to the next round.”

Sat alongside him at the press conference Jardim nodded approval.

“We have to accept who we are, who they are and do our best, no moaning, just stay positive and ambitious.”