NBA Free Agency: Kevin Durant’s Next NBA Ring Could Cost Him $4M – Here’s Why

By Erik Pineda
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant talks about his faith in Jesus Christ Reuters

Kevin Durant scored his first NBA ring with the Golden State Warriors and it looks like the 2017 NBA Finals MVP plans on securing another one, if possible as early as Season 2017-18. Reports came out KD is staying with the Warriors and to make sure the team's winning tradition, the scoring champion is gladly taking a pay cut.

It's all but confirmed Durant will re-sign with the Warriors and in the process KD will be instrumental in keeping the GSW core that  roared its way to the 2017 NBA championship at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Durant still with the Warriors uniform will also mean the best recipe for a title win that head coach has put together will remain intact.

That translates to KD teaming up with GSW headliners Stephen Curry, Draymond, Green and Klay Thompson for another shot at the Larry O'Brien Trophy next year. According to Agence France-Presse, Durant will ink a deal with the Warriors, dubbed in the industry as one-plus-one deal, that will afford the NBA Finals 2017 winner flexibility to assemble the same team.

Durant signing up anew with the Warriors will enable the team "to have more money for contracts with forward Andre Iguodala and other players," AFP said on its report.

ESPN reported Durant "will turn down a player-option salary of approximately $28 million to momentarily hit free agency with the intentions of taking less than the max he's eligible for as a 10-year veteran." It is estimated Durant will agree to a pay cut of around $4 million but the sacrifice will allow the Warriors to offer Iguodala the maximum contract that he is projected to get on the market.

Like Durant, Iguodala will become free agent on July 1.

Also a direct of result of Durant's adjustment is the increased possibility of "the Warriors to keep together the championship roster that includes Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Georgian center Zaza Pachulia and reserves," AFP said.

The impending deal is not unique with Durant as the Warriors have a similar arrangement with Curry, who last season only collected $12.1 million that earned him the label as the most underpaid player in the NBA. But by agreeing to lower pay Curry had enable the Warriors to provide with ample support for the quest to win as many NBA titles as possible.

Coming to Season 2017-18, it is expected that Curry will be rewarded with a GSW super max contract that will make him $203 million over the next five years. And in the season after that, it will be Durant's turn for a super max that reports said will pay slightly higher than what Curry will get.

Durant's one-plus-one deal with the GSW is in line with his earlier pronouncements "that he intends to stay with the Warriors for many years," ESPN said, adding KD has already established his personal and professional presence in the Bay Area that indicated his long-term plan to stay.

So looking at the big picture, Durant's decision to waive off the extra $4 million he is entitled to will lead to paybacks of hundreds of millions in the years ahead plus the opportunity of taking home multiple NBA rings.

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