Kevin Durant will opt out of his current deal with the Warriors and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN. Durant will do so in order to rework his contract, that is currently slated to pay him $26.2 million in 2018-19, a figure well below his market value.
Durant, 29, took the below market two-year deal, with a one year opt-out, in order to give the Warriors flexibility to sign the likes of fellow free agents Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston last offseason. It is unlikely that the team would’ve been able to sign both had Durant not taken the pay cut, worth around $10 million less than a max deal.
“His gesture of taking less gave us the ability to be very aggressive in pursuing Shaun and Andre,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said last July. “I can pretty much unequivocally say without it, we’re not looking at the team we have right now. What Kevin did shows who he is, shows what he’s about and I think it’s clear that that’s winning. Without him doing that it would have been a different roster, and clearly to me, a roster that wasn’t as good as the one we have right now.”
As detailed by ESPN cap expert Bobby Marks, there are three options Durant could pursue when restructuring his deal. Durant could once again sign a two-year deal with a one-year opt out, setting him up for a possible record setting five-year, $219 million contract next offseason, when the salary cap is expected to jump by nearly seven percent.
Depending on how much Durant values security, he could also sign a four-year max deal worth around $158 million. Alternatively, he could sign a hybrid of the two, in a three-year deal with a player option after the second season. In this scenario, Durant could pick up the option in year three for $41 million, or sign a five-year, $228 million contract with a starting salary of around $39.4 million.
After winning the NBA Finals MVP in his first season with Golden State, Durant averaged 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists during the 2017-18 regular season.