Does this make them the favs heading into next season?
Kevin Durant is joining the Golden State Warriors.
Saying it has been "by far the most challenging few weeks in my professional life," Durant announced his decision Monday in a post on The Players' Tribune.
He is expected to sign a two-year, $54.3 million contract, sources told ESPN's Marc Stein. The deal would include a player option after the first year.
"The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player -- as that has always steered me in the right direction," Durant wrote. "But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth.
"With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors."
The contract can be finalized July 7, when a leaguewide moratorium is lifted on signings and trades.
With Durant's decision, the Warriors are unlikely to match the reported four-year, $95 million offer sheet that Harrison Barnes agreed to with the Dallas Mavericks.
The 27-year-old Durant has spent all nine seasons of his career with the Thunder organization. He won the MVP in 2014, has been named first-team All-NBA five times and has made seven All-Star teams. He has appeared in four Western Conference finals and one NBA Finals, losing in five games to the Heat in 2012.
Durant bounced back last season to earn second-team All-NBA honors after undergoing three surgeries on his right foot to repair a Jones fracture suffered prior to the 2014-15 season, when he was limited to 27 games before undergoing a season-ending bone graft procedure in March. Without Durant, the Thunder missed the postseason.
With him back for 72 games last season, the Thunder improved to 55-27 and finished third in the West. The Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the opening round, upset the 67-win Spurs in six games in the second round and pushed the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference finals.
Durant averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists last season, and he scored at least 20 points in 67 straight games.
In nine seasons, Durant is averaging 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
