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gpolit.com April 21, 2018


Durant to decline option, re-sign with Warriors

13 April 2018, 01:21 | Ken Black

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Uber giving away Warriors swag on Tuesday to select fans riding in Bay Area

Durant, who won the 2014 NBA MVP with the Oklahoma City Thunder, signed with Golden State in July 2016.

It'll be a postseason rematch of old friends this weekend, when the Gregg Popovich and San Antonio Spurs come the Bay Area to face Steve Kerr and the Warriors in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Last summer, Kevin Durant accepted a deal well below his market value.

Last summer Durant signed a two-year, $51 million deal, which was about $10 million less than what his max contract would have been. He did so to allow the Warriors to retain the likes of forward Andre Iguodala and backup point guard Shaun Livingston while allowing the franchise to add free agents to the roster. ESPN's Chris Haynes has reported Durant will restructure his deal with Golden State this offseason.

Whatever Durant decides to do, it nearly certainly will result in him playing in the Bay Area next season, unless.

"Just a weird finish to the season", Durant continued.

A two-year deal with a $30-million salary for 2018-19 and a player option worth $31.5 million for 2019-20.

In the former scenario, Durant can opt out after the first year and sign a five-year max deal that would see his salary peak at $49.9 million in his fifth year.

And while neither Portland or New Orleans is a pushover, neither team has the firepower to make a push a seven-game series with Golden State to the limit (and that's without Curry).

With Curry out, it's up to Kevin Durant to play like a superstar. The disappointment culminated in a 119-79 loss to the Utah Jazz in the Warriors' final game of the regular season. He quietly put together a season every bit as stellar as a year ago, averaging 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists, while making 51.6 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from the 3-point line (he shot 88.9 percent from the foul line, leaving him five free throws short of the coveted 50-40-90 threshold).



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