Kevin Durant is reportedly willing to give the Golden State Warriors flexibility this offseason by signing less than a max contract, so it makes sense that the NBA Finals MVP would wait until other business is taken care of to finalize his own deal.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Durant is going to allow the Warriors to address their other needs in free agency before signing him to a new deal.
League sources: Kevin Durant plans to wait until the Warriors do the bulk of their summer business before re-signing with them later in July
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 28, 2017
The expectation in Warriors circles, sources say, is that Durant won't formally come to terms on his new deal until "later in the month."
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 28, 2017
That’s the most logical way of approaching things, especially if Durant is willing to take less money so the Warriors can keep some of their important role players. Should Golden State wind up losing those players in free agency, Durant may not want to accept less than max money.
Teams are always looking to improve, but the Warriors don’t really need to. They just need to keep their core together. No other team was close to contending with them last season, though the Cleveland Cavaliers could make a run at it if things change for them with a certain star swingman.
