Warriors Reportedly Won't Consider Trading Kevin Durant if They Re-Sign Him

Kevin Durant's potential off-season move has been closely monitored by every NBA insider ever since the beginning of the Warriors' 2018-19 season. Specuation over the All-Star's eminent departure mounted after he went down with a ruptured Achilles during the NBA Finals, throwing his future into doubt.

Most recently, the idea of a "delayed sign-and-trade" was floated, by which the Warriors would re-sign Durant with the promise of a trade to his desired destination at a later date. The trade would most likely take place after next season when he is fully recovered from his devastating injury. But for now, the latest buzz suggests no such sign-and-trade is in the cards.

If they do re-sign Durant, the Dubs reportedly intend on keeping him for the long haul. No funny business.

The fact is that this sign-and-trade plan would be risky for both Durant and the Warriors if they were truly considering it. A five-year, $221 million contract would be prohibitively expensive for any team, thus significantly hard to move.

Not to mention that the locker room environment at San Francisco's brand-new Chase Center would be pretty awkward with the entire team knowing that Durant would have become a rental simply awaiting to being shipped out.

And what if Durant's desired destinations are unable to complete a trade with the Warriors? They may not have or be willing to trade the pieces the Warriors want. The teams may not have the cap space for a five-year max contract. Then, the Warriors would have to deal with an upset Kevin Durant who is stuck on a team that his teammates know that he wants leave, but is unable to. The scenario's not exactly a chemistry-builder.

For everybody's sake, it's best that the Warriors reportedly aren't considering this delayed sign-and-trade idea. All told, however, whether or not Durant will remain with Golden State in any capacity is still a mystery.