Kevin Durant had an opportunity to secure a max deal, worth approximately $34 million per year, with the Warriors but opted to sign for $25.9 million this season, down from last year's $26.5 million salary.
That's still a ton of money, but KD was still asked why he chose to bring home less money when he had a chance at a max deal. In a recent interview with The Athletic, Durant explained his decision to take a pay cut, citing a couple of underpaid players on the Warriors.
Per The Athletic,
"Well, I'm a smart guy and I want to keep this thing going, and looking at Andre and Shaun and Steph, they all should make the most money that they can make and get what they deserve," Durant said. "Because they were all underpaid, and I knew at some point they'd want to get what they deserve.
"So I just took a step back and let the chips fall where they may. Then I took it in my hands. I wanted to keep the team together, and I thought it was going to help the ownership bring all the guys back. And on top of that, it's my money. It's my decision. I can do what the hell I want with it."
Durant also addressed the critics who somehow found something bad to say about the fact he took less money from Golden State.
Per The Athletic,
"They only [criticized] it because it's the Warriors and it's me and they love to hate anything we do right now," Durant said. "A lot of players have [taken pay cuts]. It wasn't that I wanted the praise. I've learned from Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki and how it has helped them over the years, and I thought, if they did it, why can't I? Why shouldn't I sacrifice? People wanted the money to break us up, and I didn't want that to happen."
You can check out KD's full interview with The Athletic here, wherein he talks about the new superteam in Houston, Paul George teaming up with Westbrook in OKC, and more.
