Kevin Durant is reportedly going to hit the open market this summer. Durant, who agreed to a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors last summer with a player option for a second year to help give the team space to re-sign Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, is going to decline his option and become a free agent, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.
If you’re a fan of a team that isn’t the Warriors and your hope is that this means your team can sell Durant and leaving the bay area, I have some bad news. Haynes reports that Durant’s plan includes agreeing to a new, restructured deal with Golden State, although it is still up in the air whether Durant will take a short-term deal that gives him the flexibility to control his future or if he’ll take a longer deal that keeps him with the Warriors.
Durant will turn 30 before the start of the 2018-19 campaign, but he continues to play at an MVP-caliber level during his second year in Golden State. His offensive game is still among the best in the league, as Durant is averaging 26.4 points and 5.4 assists per game. He’s also turned himself into one of the league’s peskiest defenders.
If Durant were to become a true free agent, he’d be in for a massive payday from a number of teams. Instead, he seems content to stay with the Warriors, which will almost certainly give him, well, a massive payday.
