Several teams are said to be willing to offer Kevin Durant a max contract this summer despite the fact that he is expected to miss the entire 2019-2020 season with a torn Achilles, and the Golden State Warriors are one of those teams. However, the situation between Durant and his current employer could be a lot more complicated than it seems.
The Warriors are able to offer Durant $57 million more than any other team could give him, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “Get Up” Thursday morning that one scenario that has been discussed is Golden State offering Durant a five-year max contract with the understanding that he would be traded after rehabbing next season.
“It would be their way to sort of take care of him monetarily after what he just went through, and also protect their franchise to get some assets,” Windhorst said. “If that happens, the Knicks would be in tremendous position to get back into it because they’re going to have some of these young assets plus cap space.”
Windhorst referred to the arrangement as a “delayed sign-and-trade,” noting that it would be a last-ditch effort from the Warriors to get something in return for Durant if he is committed to leaving. Durant would get an extra $57 million, and Golden State would avoid losing him for nothing.
There has already been speculation that at least one of Durant’s Warriors teammates is trying to recruit him to stay, but there are a lot of moving parts. Durant’s injury has only complicated things even further.
