Kevin Durant reportedly will re-sign with Warriors on a less-than-max contract
Kevin Durant apparently isn’t satisfied with just one title and is willing to make some financial sacrifices in order to keep the Golden State Warriors’ championship team intact. Durant will decline his player option for next season but will re-sign with the team on another one-year deal at less than maximum value, ESPN reported Monday.
Durant signed a similar one-plus-one deal, which carries a player option, last summer when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder and joined a Warriors team that rolled to its second title in three years. The NBA Finals MVP reportedly will turn down a player option that would have paid him $28 million next season.
His new deal reportedly will pay him less than the max he’s eligible for as a 10-year veteran in order to help Golden State’s chances of retaining Andre Iguodala. The Warriors can use their Bird rights on an Iguodala deal that would come close to what the veteran would command on the open market.
Durant’s decision allows the Warriors to re-sign the four-time scoring champion to a long-term deal next summer without needing to renounce key free agents in order to create cap space. The Warriors are expected to sign Steph Curry to a max contract this summer, keeping their core four together for the foreseeable future.
Durant averaged 25.1 points, 8.3 rebound and 4.8 assists in his first season in Golden State, helping the Warriors finish with the best record in the league for the third consecutive season.
