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Kevin Durant is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, the former MVP is expected not to pick up his player option this summer, though he still intends to stay with the Golden State Warriors by inking a new contract.
Golden State forward Kevin Durant plans to decline player option and become unrestricted free-agent to restructure contract, league sources tell ESPN.
In a published story also by Haynes, ESPN Front Office Insider Bobby Marks laid out some of the options Kevin Durant could consider in the offseason.
One option suggests that Durant could sign another two-year deal with the second year also coming with a player option.
As Marks pointed out, Durant could opt out in the second year and gauge the free agent market in 2020, when the salary cap would rise to an expected amount of $108 million. This will give last year’s Finals MVP a chance to pocket the most lucrative deal in the history of the NBA via a five-year deal, though staying with the Warriors would also mean burdening the franchise with a huge luxury bill.
Nonetheless, the Warriors luxury tax bill in 2019 would be astronomical. Durant's five-year income breakdown would be $37.8 million, $40.8 million, $43.8 million, $46.8 million and $49.9 million.
Marks also adds two more options in which Durant could either sign a four-year max contract or ink a three-year deal that has a player option following the second season.
It could be recalled that Kevin Durant originally signed a two-year contract with the Warriors back in 2016, but later declined his 2017-18 option. That was before he committed to his current two-year deal with Golden State.
So far this season, Durant is averaging 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
