Kevin Durant finally made his decision, announcing in The Players’ Tribune that he would be leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the rival Golden State Warriors.
My next chapter https://t.co/DG2TJ5cnev pic.twitter.com/zi94ss9NWI
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 4, 2016
The decision is shocking of course, after Durant played his first nine seasons in the league with the Thunder.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, Durant ended up signing the LeBron James patented one-and-one deal. A two-year deal, with the player option in the second year.
Kevin Durant will sign a two-year deal with the Warriors at $54.3 million, league sources say, with a Player Option for Year 2
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 4, 2016
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Warriors have been recruiting him for awhile, and Durant’s inner circle pushed for him to leave Oklahoma City.
Process w/ Durant and Golden State players has been ongoing for months. They sold him on winning multiple titles together, easing Curry load
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2016
There's been tremendous pressure within Durant's inner-circle to make dramatic move, to ride endorsement wave of change. Well, he did it.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2016
Durant and the Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors during the 2015-16 season. That had to factor into his decision.
During the 2015-16 season, Durant averaged 35.8 minutes, 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, on a slash line of .505/.387/.898.
As usual, Colin Cowherd was on the case. I wonder if he’ll admit how wrong he was?
