LeBron James was the top prize of the NBA’s free-agent market over the summer, and he ultimately decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Los Angeles Lakers.
It could be Kevin Durant’s turn as the most sought-after free agent next summer, similar to the situation he found himself in back in 2016 when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
Durant can opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming campaign, and Monday at Warriors Media Day he provided some insight into where his head’s at regarding that decision.
“Just one of those things where you’re confident in your skills and taking it year by year,” Durant said, per USA Today’s Erik Garcia Gundersen.
“And keeping my options open was the best thing for me. I could have easily signed a long term deal but I just wanted to take it season by season and see where it takes me. And I think this year is going to be a fun, exciting year for us all. I’m looking forward to just focusing on that and we’ll see what happens after the year.”
It’s anyone’s guess what Durant will do next summer. He could remain with the Warriors and continue to compete for (and likely win) more championships, or he could leave and build a winner as the face of a different franchise, which could help eliminate the criticism (fair or unfair) that his titles are worth less because he joined a 73-win team in free agency.
