Wrinkle in Durant’s future?
Report says Warriors could sign, later trade injured star forward
Will Kevin Durant re-sign with the Warriors or will he join the Knicks, Nets or some other NBA team? He could do both. There’s a new wrinkle in the season-long question surrounding Durant’s impending free agency, thanks to an ESPN report suggesting the Warriors could do a “delayed” signand-trade with their star forward.
Brian Windhorst, appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday morning, said the Warriors have talked with Durant about the possibility of signing him to a super-max contract and eventually trading him before his likely return to the court in the 2020-21 season.
“One of the things that is being discussed right now is that the Golden State Warriors would offer Kevin Durant a five-year contract, $57 million extra than he could get signing elsewhere, let him rehab and then work with him to be traded. Potentially to New York, potentially to somewhere else,” Windhorst said. “It would be their way to sort of take care of him monetarily after what he just went through and also protect the franchise and get some assets.”
The Warriors can (and will) offer Durant a five-year, $221 million super-max contract, but the most he could get in a free-agent deal from another team is a four-year deal worth roughly $164 million.
Golden State’s offer to do a signand-trade so that Durant can earn an extra $57 million would be a good faith gesture on its part, but, altruism aside, it would also assure the Warriors of getting something for their departing star. In that scenario, though, Durant would have to remain property of the Warriors for one year before being eligible for a trade, as per the CBA.
Durant underwent surgery for his ruptured right Achilles tendon he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last week. The injury occurred as he was returning after missing the Warriors’ previous nine postseason games with a strained right calf.
The 30-year- old Durant has until June 29 to exercise $31.5 million player option for the 2019-20 season, which he’s not expected to do. He’d then become an unrestricted free agent on June 30.