Former Oklahoma Thunder star Kevin Durant signed announced he will sign a 2-year, $54 million contract with the hapless Golden State Warriors. The deal includes a player option after the 1st year.
The player option will allow Durant to maximize his salary under the NBA’s $107 million salary cap in 2017 (an increase from $94 million this year).
Durant, 27, announced his decision on Monday via a post on The Player’s Tribune.
Durant was courted heavily by other NBA teams.
The former NBA MVP met with reps from the Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and the Thunder.
He said the decision to go to the Bay area was “by far the most challenging few weeks in my professional life.”
The Thunder lost 3 straight games to the Warriors who were down 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2016 NBA playoffs.
The Warriors went on to lose 3 straight games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. No team had ever come back from 3-1 down to win the NBA title.
The loss ended Golden State’s chances of winning back-to-back NBA championships.
Today Show anchor Tamron Hall was the first to break the news on Twitter.com on Sunday.
