Kevin Durant signed a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors with a player option after the first season, but that doesn't mean this will just be a temporary partnership. After his introductory press conference on Thursday, Durant told reporters that he has no interest in going through the free agency process again, via USA Today's Sam Amick:
Durant: "I plan on being here. I don't want to go through that again."
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 7, 2016
It makes financial sense for Durant to wait until he's a 10-year veteran to sign a full, five-year maximum contract. The salary cap is also expected to rise again next summer. Durant technically has a window to leave Golden State if things go wrong, but can you actually imagine things going wrong here? This should be seen as the same thing as LeBron James' contract situation with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Durant just spent an entire season deflecting questions about his professional future. Really, the speculation started even before that. Now that he's made the biggest decision of his career, there is no way that he'd want to sign up for more of that. It was smart of him to shut all that down as soon as he officially joined the Warriors.
