Rockets Legend Kevin Durant Agrees 2 Year/$90 Million Extension & Player Option In 2027-2028

This is how I think about it, financially. We essentially swapped Dillon and JG money wise with KD, and DFS. While remaining on THE SAME timeline economically. I would do this 100 out of 100 times.

 

I agree it's a win if he stays healthy, I just do view it as an inherently risky contract any time you give near-max money to a guy in his late 30s though. I'll grant you I'd much rather pay 2 years/$90M to KD than be locked into some crazy extension for Trae Young or whatever.

 

How is it spot on? KD took a paycut to win he could have insisted on 60M and it would loom over the team till next year.

 

45M to KD is better than 71M to SGA imo. Injuries can happen to anyone, being young didnt prevent Tatum and Hali from getting injured.

 

Not if you are viewed as the Hometown hero who won the Chip with your organization first, if SGA turned 31 or 32, of course paying him 50 to 70 is too much.

But now at his absolute best, not even hitting his absolute prime until he is probably 28-30......it is not.

It just sucks that ballers are eligible for that while in other sports the best are not even scratching 10 million for example.

 

Exactly my point. Giannis will decline as his athleticism wanes but Durant's skill and BBIQ are why he won't decline. Much like LBJ with his work ethic and relative health I think Durant can stay this way into his early 40s.

Completely agree as well that Durant will work with Stone to do what is necessary to stay with the team. Durant came here because he wanted a home to end his career. We have the young up and coming team with the cupboard full of the best assets and everyone signed. We can keep getting better and add more pieces.

 

Same reason I thought Harden would age like wine. His ability was footwork and bball IQ. Always does well long term.

 

If he averages 50 GP and healthy during playoffs, we good.

Lord, bless us

 

Shai will be making 61 in the last year of Durant’s option. He is worth WAYYYY more than just the 15 mil gap between them.

 

But Amen will be worth more than Shai by then. Durant gave us a bargain. Pretty sure we extend Tari tomorrow unless there is something about his injuries that is spooking the Rockets. I think they will end up giving him around 20m/yr for 4 years with no player options. If he wants a player option he will have to take less.

 

Ya i dont think a guy as old as KD making over 25% of the cap is ever a bargain. Even lebron at that age was done as a superstar and Durant certainly isn’t LeBron. Tari is pretty scary to extend with his massive injury concerns but i would be in favor of cheapish deal. I doubt amen will be worth more than shai but that’s also completely random and irrelevant to anything.

 

So it is a 2 year extension with the 2nd year being a PO....so he could leave after 2 years if he desires.

DD

 

I saw somebody say that, at this age, they were hoping for 2 for 80. I was too. But it's hard to argue with paying this version of Kevin Durant roughly only 2 million more a year than we paid Fred the past two years. I love Fred, but he's not exactly Kevin Durant.

 

Bargains are relative to the cap space and apron rules. What Durant did was make it where we can sign Tari’s extension and stay under the 2nd apron next year. Amen’s extension will be signed in October of 27th with the first contract year in 28/29 when Durant is a FA. His rookie extension will start at around 36m, his second contract will probably be around 60M or more depending on cap growth. Next year we will have FVV’s contract to add to others and draft picks if we need to. Stone is doing a masterful job.

 

We’ll see, if amen blows up this season you could definitely see supermax stuff in his rookie extension that gets him to 30%. Durant can also be used in a trade so having a big tradable contract for a guy who’s completely irrelevant long term is also a potential plus. I don’t think durant “did anything” though, it’s like he was offered 60 and said naaaa give me 45.

 

Better than three years guaranteed 60 million for sure. Since we decided to do it, that's a better scenario. We'll see what happens

 

I don’t think the over 38 rule allows that does it? Unless it got changed in the last cba?

 

How many Landrys will KD become a franchise owner of?!?!

But seriously, I like how this gives us a mini window of with a lot of flexibility. We get to see what Amen and Sengun become, hopefully true star level. On the other hand, we have a lot of ways we can go with the roster if needed.

Hopefully the young core sticks around because they overachieve and either/both of Amen and Sengun ascend. Wouldn't be bad to refresh the bench with our draft picks.

 

As fans, we often focus solely on a player's performance on the court. However, owners, as businesspeople, also consider the financial impact a player like KD can have. This includes increased ticket sales, merchandise revenue, higher viewership, and overall team popularity.

 

Not a cap expert, but AI says it's possible, only four year contracts require some gymnastics as it puts it. So looks like we avoided a much worse scenario thankfully.

AI response:
Yes — under the 2023 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player over 38 years old can sign a fully guaranteed 3‑year, $60 million contract. The “Over‑38 Rule” only restricts contracts of four years or longer for players who will turn 38 during the deal. A three‑year contract is unaffected.


How the Over‑38 Rule Works

• The rule was originally the “Over‑35 Rule,” then “Over‑36,” and is now the Over‑38 Rule.
  
  
• It exists to prevent teams from giving artificially long contracts to aging stars as a way to defer salary cap hits(e.g., paying them for years they’re unlikely to play).
  
  
• Trigger condition: If a player is 38 or will turn 38 during the contract, and the deal is 4+ years, the CBA treats the later years as “zero years” and shifts salary cap charges forward.
  
  
• Key point: Contracts of 3 years or fewer are not restricted. Teams can guarantee them in full, regardless of the player’s age.