Suns superstar Kevin Durant is eligible for a new contract extension this season and the latest intel suggests that he already has a plan in place for the immediate future. During a recent appearance on NBA Today this week, league insider Shams Charania revealed why Durant would rather wait to sign a two-year deal.
"Let's start first with the future Hall of Famer, Kevin Durant," said Shams. "He is extension eligible but I am told there will not be an extension for Kevin Durant. He has two years left on his deal but he's only eligible for a one-year, $60 million extension this offseason before Monday's deadline. Next summer, he's gonna be eligible for upwards of $120 million. And so that's really where Durant and the Suns' focus has been. They've both been focused on getting a deal done in the two-year range, not the one-year extension."
Kevin Durant initially signed a 4-year, $194 million contract with the Nets in 2021 but he's on the Suns' payroll now after he forced his way West in 2023. As a longtime veteran and NBA journeyman, nobody knows how long Durant will stay in Phoenix but it appears that both sides are prepared to extend their partnership for years to come.
Durant, a 14x All-Star, was drafted back in 2007 by the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the Thunder, he rose to prominence in the league and even won the MVP for leading his young team to an impressive standing in the West.
As a 6'11" sharpshooter with handles and a relentless passion for the game, it's no wonder why Kevin is so effective with the basketball. His long arms are good for shooting over defenders and his slender frame allows him to navigate tight spaces under the rim.
After 10+ years in the NBA, the expectation was that Durant would eventually slow down and fade into obscurity on the Phoenix Suns. But since his arrival, Durant has been the savior of the team and he's put them in a position to make a run for the title in 2025.
Last season, with averages of 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, Durant played at an MVP level for the Suns and his performance was the only thing keeping them in play for the title.
Despite the lack of playoff success, the vibes have been pretty good in Phoenix and they still have one of the best rosters in the league on paper. If they can stay healthy for any prolonged stretch of time, it'll give us a chance to see just how good they really are.
Regardless of how things play out this season, Durant is content to stay where he is and the Suns are happy to keep him around as long as he's playing at a high level. At 36 years old, Kevin Durant has yet to slow down and it'll be another three seasons at least that he's among the league's highes-paid players.
All that's left for the Suns is to maximize Durant's talents by adding the necessary help and implementing a system that enhances every player's strengths. With another extension looming, the Suns have more time now to improve the team and address some of their most glaring flaws.
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The San Antonio Spurs have signed guard David Jones-Garcia to a two-way contract after his recent impressive performance at the NBA Summer League, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Jones was just named to the All-Summer League First Team in Las Vegas after averaging 21.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 52.7% from the field and 52.9% from three-point range. Jones, who helped the Spurs to a fifth-place finish with a record of 4-1, is the Spurs' first of three two-way spots to be filled. The 23-year-old recently turned down a three-year offer from Olympiacos in Greece to continue pursuing a spot on an NBA roster, and his decision paid off as he now has that opportunity. If his level of play continues over into the upcoming NBA season, he could then be rewarded with a standard NBA contract, but for now, this is a step in the right direction. Last season, Jones, who is from the Dominican Republic, played for the Mexico City Capitanes in the NBA G League where he finished runner-up in the voting for G League Rookie of the Year.
Caitlin Clark might be the most popular figure in women's basketball right now, but she continues to draw shots left and right, both on and off the court. The Iowa product has stayed even keeled and mostly unrattled, but that doesn't mean she won't fight back. That's why, in the light of Kelsey Plum's recent comments, she decided to take matters into her own hands and clapped back at her with a simple, six-word message. Plum shared a picture of her during the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, which showed half of a Nike logo in the background. Clark was quick to spot it and just wrote "Thank u for the Nike ad." This happened just hours after Plum seemingly took a shot at Clark and her Team Clark teammates for reportedly not getting involved in their pre-game protest. “The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,” Plum revealed. “That really needed to be mentioned,” Sabrina Ionescu added while both laughed. WNBA All-Stars warmed up with a T-Shirt that read 'Pay us what you owe us,' ahead of their new CBA agreement, which is expected to be signed in the offseason. WNBA players get around 9 percent of the league's revenue, and they're asking for a bigger share since most of them also have to play overseas during the offseason because of the salary disparity. Plum is the vice president of the WNBPA, so it's not surprising to see her so involved in the protest and the demands. Then again, it's hard to understand the reasoning behind the tattle telling, as not only does it show that there might not be a united front ahead of these negotiations, but it also drives attention away from where it should be.
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to explore ways to upgrade the roster following Mitch Marner's departure in free agency. The Leafs front office has been trying to fill in the gaps along the roster, and they have been searching on the trade front. One name that has been heavily connected to the Maple Leafs in recent weeks is Calgary Flames star Nazem Kadri. Kadri could replace Marner very well in the lineup, but it seems that a deal could be complicated to complete. According to NHL insider Nick Kypreos of SportsNet, Toronto has tried to land Kadri multiple times this summer, only to be rebuffed each time. Kypreos believes that a deal involving Kadri returning to the Maple Leafs could be unlikely at this point in the summer. Last season, Kadri posted 35 goals and 32 assists for the Flames. His presence has been steady on the ice for years, and Calgary could probably get a lot on the trade market for him. The Maple Leafs will likely continue to explore ways to pry Kadri from the Flames. But Calgary likely won't trade him unless it receives an offer that it deems too good to be true. But Kadri is the leader of this team, and he was the best player for them last season. Toronto doesn't have a lot of tradable assets to work with, which could be what is holding things up between the two sides. The veteran could give Toronto a nice boost, but unless the Maple Leafs up the offer, he isn't returning to town.
On Saturday night, Kelsey Plum was part of Team Collier's 151-131 win over Team Clark in the WNBA All-Star Game, scoring 16 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Following the game, the Los Angeles Sparks star was asked about WNBA All-Stars wearing shirts before the game that read, "Pay Us What You Owe Us." Specifically, Plum was asked about how that idea came together. "The T-shirt — just a united front," she said. "That was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that." Plum said it with a chuckle. However, she was sitting next to New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't really need to be mentioned" before laughing. It was awkward, especially because Caitlin Clark, as well as all of the members of Team Clark, wore the shirts. If Clark didn't wear the shirt, you could understand some backlash. But she did. It should also be noted that Team Collier featured the president of the WNBA Players Association, Nneka Ogwumike, as well as the first vice president, Plum, and two vice presidents, Napheesa Collier and Brenna Stewart. It makes sense if they took on greater leadership roles in a statement like this against the league. Whether Plum likes it or not, the reason the WNBA has any sort of leverage heading into these negotiations with the league is Clark. She would do well to remember that the next time she wants to take an unnecessary shot at Clark, who is responsible for the greatest surge in fan attention the WNBA has ever seen.
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