Free agent forward Kevin Durant has agreed to a two-year, $61.5 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The deal is a one-and-one, allowing Durant to get a player-option in the second year, potentially hitting free agency once again in 2019.
Coming off two championship seasons in two years, Durant will make a run at his first three-peat, but signing a rather flexible max contract that would allow him to reap the most financially, while giving the team enough maneuverability to sign their soon-to-be free agents in Klay Thompson (2019) and Draymond Green (2020).
Durant notoriously gave the Warriors a $10 million discount last season after capturing his first championship, which allowed the front office to sign veterans like Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala to their respective deals to keep their core intact.
The sacrifice paid off, as the two veterans played a key role throughout the postseason. This time around though, Durant has left roughly $6 million on the table by not taking a guaranteed two-year contract — but that will be the cost of having that free agent flexibility in the future if he hopes to sail to a different place down the road.
Durant repeated as a back-to-back champion and earned a second straight Finals MVP award after posting 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game — a factor on both ends of the floor.
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