NBA News: Kevin Durant set to decline 2019 player option with the Warriors
What's the story?
The reigning Finals MVP Kevin Durant has decided to decline his player option for the 2018-19 season and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
In case you didn't know...
In the previous off-season, Durant took a discounted two-year $51 million-dollar deal that included an opt-out clause at the end of the first year, which helped the Golden State Warriors re-sign some of their key role players in Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. He took almost $10 million less than he could have earned on a max salary.
The heart of the matter...
The All-Star has decided to opt-out of his current contract of $26 million to restructure a new deal with the Warriors, league sources told ESPN.
In early March, Durant told The Athletic: "It made sense to do the one-year deal. I'm sure here soon I'll want to sign a long-term deal just to feel stable. But I'm enjoying every moment of it, so I'm not trying to look too far down the line."
ESPN Front Office Insider Bobby Marks dissected Durant's options for this upcoming offseason.
He can sign a two-year deal with a 2019-20 player option in which the first-year earnings would be $30 million and the option year worth $31.5 million increasing the salary cap from $101 million (2018-19) to $108 million (2019-20). Durant could then opt out after the 2018-19 season and sign a five-year, $219 million contract.
He can sign a four-year max contract valued at around $158 million. His annual pay would be $35.3 million, $38.2 million, $41 million and $43.8 million.
He can agree to a three-year deal with a player option after the second season. His income would go from $35.3 million to $38.2 million, and the option year would be $41 million with a player option in the 5th year.
What's next?
Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman will go over the scenarios in detail after the conclusion of the season.
Author's take
Durant is earning much less than what a player of his caliber should be getting. Since there are no real incentives for Durant or for his team to take such a drastic reduction in pay this time around, it is therefore justified that Durant opt-out to seek for a better contract this time around.