LeBron intrigue builds as free agency starts with flourish
Kevin Durant is staying put for now. So are Paul George and Chris Paul.
Meanwhile, LeBron James’ next move remains unclear.
Durant has decided to sign a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, a person familiar with the situation told Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday because the deal cannot become official until the league’s offseason moratorium ends on Friday. The deal comes with a player option for 2019-20, so Durant can and likely will become a free agent again next summer.
So much for the notion that stars would wait for James to decide his future before they would decide theirs.
Things went a very different way.
Durant, Paul and George all knew what they were going to do even before the NBA’s moratorium and the start of free agency officially kicked in at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday. So did plenty of other players, and by the time the moratorium was two hours old nearly $700 million worth of deals had been agreed, based on figures confirmed to AP by people involved in the various decisions.
Durant’s move is a win on multiple levels for the twotime defending NBA champion Warriors. Not only do they get to keep the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals MVP, but they also get some financial flexibility in the deal.
Durant will be paid about $30.5 million this coming season, about $5 million less than he could have commanded if the deal was structured differently. That saving will give Golden State options for other moves this summer, as the Warriors look to bolster their bench in a bid for a fourth title in five years.
They might need the boost, because the Western Conference is going to be loaded again.
George took the stage at a party in Oklahoma City on Saturday night and announced that he will be staying with the Thunder, a move that might have been unexpected a year ago when he was traded away by the Indiana Pacers, presumably because of the belief that he was already focused on joining his hometown Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
That move isn’t happening now and, barring a trade, not for at least three years in a massive victory for the Thunder and general manager Sam Presti.
George agreed to a fouryear deal that will be worth roughly $135 million, though he can opt out of the final season, according to a source familiar with the terms.
“I’m here to stay,” George told the crowd at the party.
Down in Houston, Paul has told Rockets fans the same thing.
“UNFINISHED BUSINESS,” Paul wrote on Twitter at the exact moment that the calendar flipped to July 1 in the East, meaning the NBA’s free agency frenzy was officially open for the summer.
His meaning was clear. The Rockets were tantalizingly close to a trip to the NBA Finals this spring, and Paul’s coming back to get over that hump.
Houston took Golden State to seven games in the Western Conference finals in May. Paul missed the last two games of that series with an injury, and the Rockets wasted big leads in both of those games before watching the Warriors sweep Cleveland for the NBA title.
Paul averaged 18.6 points and 7.9 assists last season with the Rockets, who went 65-17 led by Paul and newly minted NBA MVP James Harden. ESPN reported he is signing a four-year deal that will be worth $160 million.
Meanwhile, James has become an unrestricted free agent and not opt in to a $35.6 million Cleveland Cavaliers deal for this coming season.
He spent last week vacationing in Anguilla before jetting to Los Angeles, where he was greeted by reporters and at least one news helicopter.
The Lakers have long been touted as a destination for James, and they have more salary-cap space this summer than any NBA team. But going to LA on Saturday doesn’t necessarily hint at his next team, since James has homes in California.
But if James is going to be the next superstar to follow in the legacy that Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson built for the Lakers, it’s already fairly evident that not everyone in the NBA will be thrilled by the development.
“The Lakers are FOREVER gonna be Kobe’s and Magic’s team .... Process that,” Philadelphia star Joel Embiid wrote on Twitter.
Philadelphia has been one of the teams often mentioned as a club that would pursue James this summer, and that still may be the case.
With Durant, George and Paul off the board, James is the biggest name left to decide his intentions when it comes to free agency.
His agent, Rich Paul, was expected to meet by phone with Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman on Sunday. There has been no indication when James will announce his plans for next season.