After winning the MVP of the 2017 NBA Finals, Kevin Durant will opt out of his player option with the Golden State Warriors, per a report.
Have no fear, though, Warriors fans. Because according to Chris Haynes of ESPN, Durant will reportedly re-sign with the champs and take less than the max so the Warriors can hopefully retain Andre Iguodala.
“The 2017 NBA Finals MVP will turn down a player-option salary of approximately $28 million to momentarily hit free-agency with the intentions of taking less than the max he’s eligible for as a 10-year veteran in order to improve the Warriors’ chances of re-signing reserve stud Andre Iguodala, league sources told ESPN.”
Haynes reports that, by taking $4 million less, Durant can help the Warriors “use their Bird rights on an Iguodala deal that is far more comparable to what he’d see on the open market.”
The new deal Durant will reportedly sign will likely be another “one-plus-one pact, which carries a player-option at the end.”
This report indicates Durant is very eager to help the Warriors keep the entire championship squad together for another run at the title in 2017-18. And who can blame him. This past season, Golden State was a buzzsaw that ran roughshod through opponents from the start of the season all the way through Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals.
Looks like the rest of the league has some serious catching up to do. On that note, we’ve a few ideas on how that could happen.