NBA Rumors: GSW Could Explore ‘Delayed Sign-And-Trade’ Deal Involving Kevin Durant, Per ‘ESPN’s Windhorst
Before he suffered an Achilles injury in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant was considered as the most coveted superstar in the 2019 NBA free agency class. In the past months, multiple signs were suggesting that Durant would be leaving the Warriors to face the next biggest challenge of his NBA career. However, with Durant expected to spend the entire 2019-20 NBA season recovering from an injury, it remains a big question mark if there’s an NBA team who will consider offering him a max contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
In a recent appearance on ESPN’s Get Up, the network’s Brian Windhorst revealed that the Warriors could explore a scenario that will beneficial for Kevin Durant and the team. Windhorst said that the Warriors’ front office has “discussed” the idea of a “delayed sign-and-trade” involving Durant.
“One of the things that is being discussed right now is that the Golden State Warriors would offer Kevin Durant a five-year contract, $57 million extra than he can get signing elsewhere, let him rehab and then work with him to be traded, potentially to New York, potentially to somewhere else.,” Windhorst said, as quoted by NESN.
“It would be their way to sort of take care of him monetarily after what he just went through and also protect the franchise to some assets. 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.”
Five potential Kevin Durant landing spots in free agency. https://t.co/T93eSBHMV0 pic.twitter.com/LUKlsMo57Z
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) June 20, 2019
Agreeing to a delayed sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors is arguably a good move for Kevin Durant, especially if Golden State will give him an assurance that he will be sent to his preferred landing spot in the 2020 NBA offseason. Giving Durant a max contract — even though he won’t be playing for an entire season — may raise the eyebrows of some Warriors’ fans. However, aside from rewarding Durant for the things he has done for the franchise, a delayed sign-and-trade deal will also allow the Warriors to acquire precious trade assets in the summer of 2020 instead of losing him as an unrestricted free agent without getting anything in return.
One of the NBA teams who could express strong interest in engaging in a delayed sign-and-trade with the Warriors is the New York Knicks. The Knicks headed into the 2019 NBA offseason with the hope of building a roster that can legitimately contend for the NBA championship title. However, despite having the trade assets and the salary cap space to go after multiple superstars, multiple signs are hinting that the Knicks will end up empty-handed this summer. If the Knicks fail to acquire their top targets, they may consider preserving their trade assets for the opportunity to acquire Kevin Durant and the four years left on his contract in the summer of 2020.
