NBA Free Agency Watch: Kevin Durant Is Staying Put

Who says we have to wait until 12:01! I can’t say this news is surprising, as Durant made it pretty clear for months that he had every intention of returning to Golden State. I mean why would he leave? Not only can they offer him the most money but maybe you’ve heard they’ve won the last two NBA titles. The interesting part was never whether or not Durant was going to leave, but ultimately what he would sign for. One of the drawbacks of the Warriors success is it’s come with a pretty hefty price tag. That has forced them to pay a shit ton in luxury taxes, so even something small like a $5M discount would go a long way to help the Warriors with their tax issues.

For Durant to get that annual salary of $35M he would have had to sign a 2+1 type deal. Instead, but signing a 1+1 not only does he keep his options open every summer (which is something you can credit Lebron for starting), it also drops his salary to $30.5M. Here’s why this is significant and if you hate the Warriors you aren’t going to like the reason. This saved $5M not only saved GS $20M in tax savings, but it now allows the Warriors to upgrade from signing a minimum contract player (1.5M) to now someone who maybe is a little bit better, because they can now use the tax player mid level exception which is $5.3M. So basically, the Warriors can add even better talent to their roster with this new deal, as if it wasn’t hard enough to beat GS.

This also means that now Durant and Klay Thompson are going to be free agents in the same summer with next year’s cap projected to be around $109M (up $8M from next season). In case you forgot, Curry will be making $37M that year, so that’s a lot of your cap tied to three guys, with no luxury relief in sight. Either way, as someone who is itching for any and every NBA free agency move as we quickly approach midnight, consider this a nice little appetizer for what’s in our immediate future.

So take KD off the board, I wonder who’s turn it will be next