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Kevin Durant officially declines player option

To no one’s surprise, Durant is headed for free agency.

NBA: Finals-Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant is officially an unrestricted free agent. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Durant declined his one-year, $31.5 million option for the upcoming season, thus ending his contract with the Golden State Warriors.

This was always the overwhelmingly likely option when Durant signed his one plus one contract last offseason. The only way Durant would have opted into his contract was if he had a horrendous injury that limited what teams were willing to pay him.

Unfortunately, the first part of that sentence came true, but thankfully the second part did not. The Warriors are still expected to offer Durant the five-year max, while teams like the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be interested in the four-year max that they’re allowed to offer.

So basically, this news means nothing in the big picture. It doesn’t say anything about whether Durant’s intention is to leave the Warriors, or run it back at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

But it is the first domino. And we’ll know a whole lot more soon.

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