WOW !!!!!
Kevin Durant is joining the Golden State Warriors.
Saying he has experienced “by far the most challenging few weeks in my professional life,” Durant announced Monday his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in a post on The Players’ Tribune.
Durant is expected to sign a two-year, $54.3 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein. The deal would include a player option after the first year.
“The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player — as that has always steered me in the right direction,” Durant wrote. “But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth.
“With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.”
After Durant signs with Golden State, two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry will become the fourth-highest-paid player on the Warriors. Durant will be No. 1, followed by Klay Thompson ($16.6 million), Draymond Green ($15.3 million) and Curry ($12.1 million), who can become a free agent after next season.
Durant’s contract can be finalized July 7, when a leaguewide moratorium is lifted on signings and trades.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in Hawaii and learned about Durant joining Golden State via The Players’ Tribune website, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported.
The Warriors plan to renounce their rights to Harrison Barnes, sources told Stein, to help clear the needed salary-cap space to sign Durant. That will make Barnes an unrestricted free agent July 7.
Barnes, sources told Stein, remains on course to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, who over the weekend committed to a four-year max deal with the 24-year-old worth $94.4 million no matter what happened with Durant.
Durant is expected to sign a two-year, $54.3 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein. The deal would include a player option after the first year.
“The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player — as that has always steered me in the right direction,” Durant wrote. “But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth.
“With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.”
After Durant signs with Golden State, two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry will become the fourth-highest-paid player on the Warriors. Durant will be No. 1, followed by Klay Thompson ($16.6 million), Draymond Green ($15.3 million) and Curry ($12.1 million), who can become a free agent after next season.
Durant’s contract can be finalized July 7, when a leaguewide moratorium is lifted on signings and trades.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in Hawaii and learned about Durant joining Golden State via The Players’ Tribune website, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported.
The Warriors plan to renounce their rights to Harrison Barnes, sources told Stein, to help clear the needed salary-cap space to sign Durant. That will make Barnes an unrestricted free agent July 7.
Barnes, sources told Stein, remains on course to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, who over the weekend committed to a four-year max deal with the 24-year-old worth $94.4 million no matter what happened with Durant.
SOURCE: ESPN