Golden State Warriors' All-Star forward Kevin Durant has reportedly decided to decline his player option for the 2018-19 season, thus making him an unrestricted free agent this summer, according to ESPN's Chris Haynes. That said, Durant has no intentions of leaving the Bay Area.
Haynes reports that KD opted to turn down the $26.2 million salary in order to restructure a new deal with the Warriors that will ultimately pay him even more money. Last offseason, Durant took almost $10 million less than what he could have earned on a max salary which allowed Golden State to resign role players like Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.
According to Haynes, the reigning NBA Finals MVP has no real incentives to take pay cut this time around. There are several options for Durant and the Warriors, including another two-year deal or a four-year max contract valued at around $158 million.
Durant, 29, finished the regular season with 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per night as the Warriors ended the season as the second seed in the Western Conference. The rest of the league will wrap up the regular season tonight and there's still plenty to be decided, including which team will finish in the seventh spot and be tasked with taking on Durant and co. in the first round.