On Monday, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr commented on 2017 Finals MVP Kevin Durant's decision of sacrificing salary to help keep the Warriors team that won last season's NBA Championship intact. The Mercury News' Anthony Slater reported that, when questioned about the selflessness of Durant's new contract, Kerr compared his actions to Tim Duncan and how Duncan would do something similar during his career playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
Durant's pay cut helped the Warriors keep their core intact
ESPN reported that, if Kevin Durant had signed a maximum contract, he would have earned $36 million during the 2017-18 NBA season, but instead, he decided to agree to a deal worth $25 million.
Durant can sign a maximum contract next season if he opts out of his two-year contract. The Golden State Warriors managed to retain the services of Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala for another three years thanks to Durant's current deal
When Kevin Durant announced he was moving to the Golden State Warriors, questions were asked regarding chemistry issues as Durant was joining an already stacked team. Despite this, Durant managed to fit in perfectly with the Warriors. During the 2016-17 regular season, KD averaged 25.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists while shooting 53.7% from the field and 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc. During the 2017 NBA playoffs, Durant averaged a total fo 28.5 points per game and was awarded the NBA Finals MVP award after the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers for their second championship in the past three seasons.
This situation is not the first time this action has been done
Barring any long-term injuries to key players, the Golden State Warriors are once again the hot favorite to win the NBA Championship due to their strong core of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and others.
During his legendary career, Tim Duncan was a five-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP, two-time NBA MVP, and 15-time NBA All-Star.
Duncan has also been selected to 15 All-NBA Teams and 15 NBA All-Defensive Teams. Duncan won the 1998 Rookie of the Year award and is the NBA Playoffs all-time leader in minutes and blocks. During Duncan's career, he was surrounded by many great stars such as Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and David Robinson.
By taking less money than he was eligible for in his contract, Kevin Durant has helped build a similar powerhouse with the Golden State Warriors in much the same way Tim Duncan was able to with the San Antonio Spurs.
