The Warriors are bringing back just about all of their key free agents involved in last season’s championship run, and Kevin Durant‘s willingness to accept a discount on his new deal helped the team to make those moves. Stephen Curry, who received the largest contract of Golden State’s offseason, tells Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic that he also asked the Warriors about the possibility of taking a discount to accommodate other players.
“I actually asked [GM] Bob [Myers],” Curry said. “If I were to take a discount — at any number, I don’t know what it would be — how much of a difference would that make for us to be able to sign other guys. It wasn’t like [Durant’s] situation. His had a direct impact on us being able to sign Andre [Iguodala] and Shaun [Livingston]. And it was just an unbelievable sacrifice by KD. But mine didn’t matter.”
It’s true that it made much more sense for Durant to accept a discount than Curry. The Warriors held Curry’s Bird rights, meaning the team could make him a five-year maximum salary offer without affecting other free agents. If Curry had taken a discount on the first year, it would have impacted his earnings in all future seasons as well, since raises are limited to 8% annually. Durant, on the other hand, is likely to opt out of his new deal in 2018, so he’ll likely trade a few million dollars this year for a larger – and longer-term – payday a year from now.
If Durant had wanted a max deal of his own this offseason, the Warriors probably would have had to renounce both Iguodala’s and Livingston’s cap holds to make it happen, since the club didn’t hold KD’s full Bird rights.
Still, Durant accepted an even more significant discount than he needed to, allowing the Warriors to avoid going as deep into the tax as they otherwise might’ve. That aspect of Durant’s discount didn’t technically have an impact on the amount the Warriors could offer their free agents by CBA rules — it simply reduced the club’s projected tax penalties, perhaps making ownership more willing to spend on other players.
When considering Curry’s and Durant’s new agreements, it’s also worth noting that Curry was underpaid for the last several seasons, having just finished up a four-year, $44MM contract. He won two MVP awards and two titles during the life of that contract, so it made sense for the Warriors to reward him with a full max deal.
Very well explained Luke. Great article with differences between bird rights and other situations. Thanks for clearing up.
Who’s a good girl
Lmfao
Curry is the top team player hands down
that’s why he always averages 10+ dimes, huh
That represents nothing. Just observe and you will see Curry is a team player.
By your logic Westbrook is a team player but most would say he isn’t.
Correct. I’d like to see how many “hockey assists” Curry gets, a pass to another guy who then gets an assist. (2nd pass to an assist.)
The dubs play a fast paced, give up good shots for great shots, one extra pass game.
So a pass from Curry to a wide open KD might yield to an inside pass from KD to an even more wide open Javale.
Steph didn’t complain one bit about having to share the ball or not being Finals MVP. That’s a team player.
Piggybacking what you said, by that logic RONDO is a team player, and he gave up during the playoffs.
Steph and all the dubs are the epitome of team players, and the championship shows all.
Wow, great piece. Very articulate & concise
Yeah sure
Very well detailing of difference between Curry and KD and the impact of their contracts in signing GSW own free agents.