Kevin Durant is in no hurry to sign an extension with the Phoenix Suns, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Marks reported Durant is expected to wait until next offseason to sign a new deal since he’d be eligible to get up to $123.8 million over two years. For now, he can only sign a one-year deal worth $59.5 million.
The way his Brooklyn Nets tenure unraveled might be influencing the 14-time All-Star’s thought process as well.
Durant penned a four-year extension with the Nets in August 2021.
Then he watched as James Harden requested and received a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 2022 deadline.
Months later, Durant sought his own exit only to be stuck in Brooklyn for the start of the 2022-23 season. The Nets eventually sent him to the Suns in February 2023, which came after the franchise also granted Kyrie Irving’s trade request.
Absent a new deal, the 36-year-old is due to be a free agent in 2026 and he may prefer to maintain some flexibility and see how the Suns perform on the court before he’s willing to commit his future to the organization any further.
Nobody would blame Durant for having reservations about Phoenix’s direction.
The team finished sixth in the Western Conference and got swept in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Thanks to the more restrictive collective bargaining agreement, the Suns can’t make many meaningful upgrades to the roster, either.
They hitched their wagons to the Big Three of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, and their only hope is that the trio—Beal in particular—can deliver more this season.
