Warriors shakeup: Durant, Iguodala out; Thompson staying
Durant opts to join Nets, Klay stays, Iguodala out, Russell in
Free agent Kevin Durant picks Nets over Warriors; Klay Thompson accepts max contract; proposed deal to get AllStar D’Angelo Russell means Andre Iguodala is heading to Memphis.
Kevin Durant is leaving the Bay Area to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, putting an end to his threeyear run with the Warriors.
The longawaited resolution to this NBA drama was just the start of a transformative day for Golden State, which also agreed to resign free agent Splash Brother Klay Thompson on a fiveyear $190 million contract and arranged to trade away fan favorite and team stalwart Andre Iguodala.
As part of the Iguodala transaction, the Warriors agreed to acquire AllStar point guard D’Angelo Russell from the Nets in a signandtrade agreement that will deliver the 23yearold a contract worth $117 million over four years.
All told, the various wheeling and dealing will change the Warriors roster significantly, as the team tries to regroup and remain a legitimate title contender going into its first season in the newly built Chase Center in San Francisco.
The torrent of news started when Durant announced his freeagency decision Sunday afternoon on the Instagram account for his company
owned sports business network, the Boardroom. Because he made his decision so early in the process (free agency opened at 3 p.m. Sunday), Durant didn’t meet with the Warriors to discuss his options.
Despite all the other moves that came to pass, it was Durant’s decision that was the news of the day in the NBA. Durant, of course, helped lead the Warriors to two titles in the last three years.
Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman informed Warriors general manager Bob Myers of Durant’s decision in New York on Sunday, a league source confirmed with The Chronicle. The Nets, as well as the two other teams Durant had considered (the Clippers and Knicks), were told later in the day.
In Brooklyn, Durant will team with close friend Kyrie Irving, who is expected to sign a fouryear, $141 million deal with the Nets. Irving, a sixtime AllStar point guard who played the past two seasons with Boston, and Durant have talked about teaming up since they first played together on the U.S. national team. Center DeAndre Jordan, a 2017 AllStar whom Durant has said will be a groomsman in his wedding someday, also agreed to sign with Brooklyn.
To join the Nets, Durant spurned more years and money from the Warriors. Golden State had been prepared to offer him a fiveyear supermax contact worth $221 million. That’s $57 million more than any other team could offer him.
This is a calculated risk for Durant, who is expected to miss all of next season with a torn right Achilles tendon he suffered during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Achilles injuries are known to be careerthreatening. Had he signed the supermax with the Warriors, Durant would have stood to earn roughly $50 million in 202324, when he’ll be 35.
Instead, Durant will bet on himself and hope to show the Nets — and the rest of the league — that he can return to his preinjury form.
Durant had been interested in playing in New York, with the Knicks long considered the favorite. But he began to think more seriously about the Nets when Irving, fresh off a tumultuous season with the Celtics, expressed interest in joining them.
Durant counts Irving as one of his best buddies, and the two reportedly met multiple times in recent months to discuss their options.
Although the Nets can’t match the prestige or history of the Knicks, they boast a deep roster coming off the franchise’s first postseason in four years. If he returns to good health, Durant will be well positioned to lead Brooklyn as its goto option. That wasn’t possible with Golden State, where Stephen Curry is signed through the 202122 season.
It may have helped the Nets that Durant has a relationship with their team physician, Dr. Martin O’Malley, who performed Durant’s Achilles surgery June 12 and operated on Durant’s foot when he suffered a Jones fracture in 2015. As he rehabs, Durant can work closely with someone he knows well.
Durant, who turns 31 in September, made three AllStar appearances and won two Finals MVP awards in his three years with Golden State. If not for being limited to 12 minutes in the 2019 NBA Finals due to injuries, he might have helped lead the Warriors to their third straight title. Durant became the first player in NBA history to average 30 points per game on 50% shooting from the field, 40% shooting from 3point range and 90% shooting from the foul line in a single postseason (minimum five games).
Sunday’s news was the culmination of months of rampant speculation about Durant’s pending free agency. Such chatter took a toll on the Warriors locker room at times, as evidenced by Draymond Green telling Durant to leave during an oncourt argument in November.
With Durant gone, the Warriors face the possible end of a dynasty. They currently have only a $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception and minimum contracts to fill several roster spots, including starters.
Although it’s unlikely, Golden State might try to orchestrate a Durant signandtrade with Brooklyn, which would give the Warriors the largest trade exception in NBA history. They could use that to help replace Durant, or they could wait to use that exception to add salary at the trade deadline or next summer.