Kevin Durant not interested in giving up guaranteed contracts
Kevin Durant said he disagrees with the notion of sacrificing guaranteed money in exchange for eliminating max contracts. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested the idea earlier this week.
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"I don't think that makes sense," Durant said Friday, according to ESPN.com. "Give up guarantees? Nah, I don't think so. Why? Why would we do that? Just because we asked for ... I'm not going to talk about this, man."
Durant said earlier this week that there are several players worth more than the value of a max contract.
"Look at it like this: Kobe Bryant brings in a lot of money to Los Angeles, that downtown area," Durant said. "Clippers are getting up there — Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and those guys are bringing in a lot of money as well. Look at Cleveland, look at Miami when LeBron [James] was there. These guys are worth more than what they are making because of the money that they bring to that area. That's a conversation you can always have, but until it's changed, you never know what will happen to it."
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Cuban suggested the possibility of installing a system in which guaranteed money is negotiated on an individual basis.
"It was discussed during the lockout time among owners but never got anywhere," Cuban said about his proposal. "So it was just one of those trial balloons. I'm not offering this as a negotiation, I'm not suggesting it. All I'm saying is that was something we discussed before, and max contracts are always big question, guarantees are always a big question. But we have two years [on the collective bargaining agreement] before that's even an issue, so no point discussing it now."
Durant, 26, was named the league's MVP last season. He can become a free agent after the 2015-16 season, when the salary cap is expected to increase due to the league's multi-billion-dollar TV contract extension.
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