Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant will decline his player option for the 2018-19 NBA season, worth $26,500,000, to restructure a new contract with the team, reports ESPN’s Chris Haynes:
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant plans to decline his player option for the 2018-19 season and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, league sources told ESPN.
His time on the open market, however, will be brief.
A nine-time All-Star and the reigning NBA Finals MVP, Durant will be turning down a salary of $26.2 million, a figure well below that of a player of his caliber, in order to restructure a new deal with the Warriors, sources said.
Durant, 29, signed with the Warriors in the summer of 2016. He is widely considered one of the best two or three players in the NBA and among the greatest scorers ever.
This season, he has averaged 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and a career-high 1.8 blocks per game on excellent efficiency; he’s shot 51.6 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from 3-point range and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line.
