NBA: 5 ripple effects of Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury

4. Kevin Durant’s player option

Two free agent storylines dominated the 2018-19 NBA season. One of them was the focus on where Kevin Durant would take his talents after declining to opt in to the final year of his deal in Golden State. Would he go to the Knicks, or perhaps the Brooklyn Nets? One thing felt certain: he would not stay in Golden State.

Now, though, the optics surrounding his current contract have altered completely. Already the New York tabloids are running stories regarding what the Knicks’ Plan B should be. NJ.com published a story flat-out saying the Knicks should pass on Durant after the injury.

There is no precedent for an NBA team offering a four-year max offer sheet with the understanding that the first year of the contract would be empty. It’s for good reason, too. On paper, giving a player with a devastating lower-body injury a fully guaranteed multi-year contract is stupid. Then again, we’re talking about the New York Knicks, and one of the greatest talents in NBA history.

If the Knicks decide to balk on offering KD a max contract and other teams follow suit, it’s likely he would gamble on himself as a last resort by opting-in to an extremely lucrative final year in Golden State. Durant can rehab in the nicest facilities in the league, on a championship contender, to the tune of $31.5 million.

What once seemed impossible now seems nearly inevitable. The best course of action for Durant may wind up being rehabbing in Golden State, hoping for a better recovery showcase than teammate DeMarcus Cousins, and return in time to finally give the Bay a fourth title. Of course, Durant opting in would also have widespread ramifications.