Golden State Warriors Trade, Roster Rumors: Why Kevin Durant Will Likely Decline Player Option
Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant will reportedly decline his player option for the next season and will technically become a free agent beginning July 1. However, it is said that he will eventually re-sign with the same team soon.
The 28-year-old basketball player had a player option with Golden State Warriors for one more season that would have paid him $28 million. However, he will reportedly turn it down to momentarily hit free agency with the goals of taking about $4 million less than the amount he is qualified for as a 10-year veteran, a source told ESPN.
Durant's move would allow the Golden State Warriors to keep their entire core players together for years to come. This is not the first time Durant publicly expressed his desire to stay in the team.
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"I feel as though I am going to be back here — no question," Durant said in a past interview. "We'll all figure something out, work something out. I want to be here. We just won a championship, man. Let's see if we can do it again. Feels weird saying that. But winning a championship is the ultimate goal. But it's easy for me to say that now. Hopefully, we get it done," he added.
However, Durant's sacrifice might be put to waste. Andre Iguodala, who has played four seasons with the Golden State Warriors, could be signing with other teams in the coming months.
Since Iguodala is one of the staunchest reserves the Golden State Warriors has, many teams are keen to pursue discussions with him, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, a source told The Vertical, as cited by Yahoo!
Even though there has not yet been any confirmation, multiple reports have suggested that the value this summer for a two-way player could reach $20 million annually.
