Kevin Durant took a third consecutive one-and-one deal with the Golden State Warriors this summer, but for reasons different than most would think.

While some are expecting Durant to leave once winning gets “too boring” and he decides to take the Kyrie Irving-esque heroic task of leading his own team, Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News noted on the Yahoo Sports NBA podcast with Chris Mannix just why KD keeps making these decisions.

“No doubt, from what I was told when he made this decision, the main driving force – as you alluded to – was the financial flexibility because he can get that five-year, 219 million-dollar deal,” said Medina.

Durant could actually make as much as $221 million over a five-year contract with the Warriors next summer, but had he signed a two-and-one deal this summer, his projected five-year max in 2020 could balloon to a $235 million contract, according to NBC Sports' Dan Feldman, plus he could have earned an extra $5.7 million this season. However, this rumor suggests KD may want to lock in that long-term deal next summer rather than in 2020.

Giving Durant such a hefty sum could mean parting ways with Klay Thompson or Draymond Green, as the Warriors' salary cap can only take so much inflation before it bursts into astronomical levels as a tax repeater team.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to contract structure, and let's not ignore the most obvious possibility of all: Durant, like many other free agents, are putting flexibility over hefty numbers, knowing they're bound to cash checks as long as there are teams willing to handsomely reward them for their services, even if it means taking a slight discount.