Kevin Durant to Opt-Out of Player Option This Summer to Restructure a Deal with Warriors
Reading the first part of the title to this article initially sounds a bit worrisome however as the rest of the title reads out we can collectively breath a deep sigh of relief as it doesn’t appear Kevin Durant will be going anywhere anytime soon.
The nine-time All-Star told sources from ESPN that he plans on opting out of his contract with the Warriors only to restructure his deal with the team.
“Golden State forward Kevin Durant plans to decline player option and become unrestricted free-agent to restructure contract, league sources tell ESPN. Story w/ @BobbyMarks42 breaking down the options. https://t.co/jsKx2OVs16”
Last summer Durant signed a two-year, $51 million deal which included a player option in the second year. He took significantly less money than a player of his caliber could have received and essentially bought the Golden State Warriors extra wiggle room so that they could be aggressive in securing Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston to the team which they did.
“His gesture of taking less gave us the ability to be very aggressive in pursuing Shaun and Andre,” Warriors GM Bob Myers said last summer. “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.”
It is not yet clear as to how the restructured deal with the Warriors would look like for Durant however it appears as though there is no benefit to himself or to the team for the reigning Finals MVP to take another pay cut.