No Need to Hate on Kevin Durant

A year ago today, Kevin Durant changed the NBA as we know it when he decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors. While many were preparing their grills, NBA GMS were scratching their heads trying to figure out how to compete with the Warriors. They all failed. The Warriors went on to win their second title in three years. A year later, Durant has signed an extension, but guess what, he took a pay cut.

This past weekend, Stephen Curry became the highest paid NBA player in history when he signed a 5-year deal worth $201 Million. Everyone knew this day was coming. Curry had been underpaid after his rise to stardom. He was still working on a 4-year $44 Million contract. When he signed that contract, the concerns was due to his ankles. Two NBA titles later, Curry earned his money and more. Durant on the other hand decide to make a sacrifice so that the Warriors could stay together. Durant just signed a two year extension worth $53 Million. For the 2017-18 season, Durant will be earning $9.5 Million LESS than the max he could have earned. It's also $1.54 less than what he earned a year ago. What this did was allow the Warriors to retain former NBA Finals MVP André Iguodala at $16 Million. Think that's outrageous, just think about this, Kevin Durant is what many people consider the second best player in the world. Well Mike Conley, who has never made an all-star team is getting paid more. So people can hate Durant for going to Golden State but you can now tell that it was a basketball move. Why, cause he put his money where his mouth is by doing his part to keep the team together.