Golden State Warriors: 5 takeaways from the 2018-19 NBA season

3. Golden State may be wise to let KD walk

When Kevin Durant went down in Game 5 of the Finals, the NBA world immediately turned to his impending free agency this coming summer. Set to have his pick of the litter from a number of desperate suitors, that guarantee was given a slight cause for pause.

Luckily for KD, his talents far seem to outweigh the traditional risks present after suffering this type of unfortunate injury. Reports suggested a number of teams won’t hesitate to offer him a max contract, including the Warriors. Given their current situation, however, maybe they should take their name out of the running.

Durant is likely to miss the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign and won’t step foot on an NBA court until he’s 32 years old. A max contract will pay him well over $30 million each year, money that could be spent elsewhere.

The Warriors don’t have all the time in the world to await Durant’s return to his former self. Curry is 31 and Draymond and Klay are soon to hit the 30-mark as well. All three have tremendous wear and tear on their body that could lead to a precipitous decline at any given moment. As we’ve seen up until the Finals, the necessity of Durant has exponentially decreased with their convincing run all the way to the championship round. They simply had no one to replace him on the current roster.

If ownership is willing to spend the extra money, it may be wise for Golden State to balance out an uneven roster rather than commit itself to a player whose long-term status has been flung high into the air. Morally, there may be some issues, but allowing Durant to walk may be the route that leads back to title contention the quickest.