Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder agree to 5-year contract extension

Kevin Durant agreed to a new contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder just one minute after team executives showed up on his doorstep at 11:01 p.m. CST on June 30. The new deal does not contain a player option that would allow Durant to become a free agent following the fourth year of the contract.

BY DARNELL MAYBERRY, Staff Writer, dmayberry@opubco.com | Modified: July 7, 2010 at 4:00 pm | Published: July 7, 2010 Comment on this article

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The exact value of Durant’s deal will not be known until next July, when the salary cap for the 2011-12 season is set. But under current projections for the 2010-11 season, Durant could be in line for a contract in the neighborhood of $84.85 million over the life of the five-year deal. His first-year salary in the new deal would be worth about $14 million based on projections of a $56.1 million salary cap in 2010-11.

With maximum allowable 10.5 percent raises, Durant’s salary would increase to $15.4 million in Year Two, $16.9 million in Year Three, $18.4 million in Year Four and $19.9 million in the fifth and final season.

“I’m happy I’m a part of this team, and hopefully I’ll be here for years to come,” Durant told The Oklahoman last week.

By agreeing to a new deal now, the Thunder demonstrated the high level of commitment it has to the league’s newest star. With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring June 30, 2011, Oklahoma City could have waited until next summer to complete a deal with Durant as a restricted free agent under CBA changes that are widely anticipated to be more favorable to the owners.

“They showed Kevin and his family, by showing up at his house at 11:01 p.m. (on June 30), their commitment to Kevin,” Goodwin said. “And he made it clear his commitment to them at the same time.”

Durant, 21, led the league in scoring last season, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to do so after averaging 30.1 points per game. Durant also made the Western Conference All-Star team for the first time in 2009-10 and earned All-NBA First Team honors, joining LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

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