Kevin Durant opens up about future with Warriors

Kevin Durant returned from injury for the first time in last Saturday’s game against the Pelicans. As such, there’s been a lot of debate about how he’ll fit in the Warriors’ offense, which was clicking on all cylinders with him out of the lineup.

The Warriors have done a good job of taking it slow by easing him back into the rotation, having played him 31, 33 and 27 minutes. He looks to be returning to midseason form as well, having turned in an extremely efficient shooting performance against the Lakers on Wednesday night. Durant knocked down 11 of 16 shots in the game—including five of seven shots from three-point range—and scored 29 points.

While there’s a lot of talk about whether or not Durant is ready to play in a postseason game, which often entails more physical play and a quicker pace, no one is discussing the bigger picture. The Warriors forward actually has the option to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer, and it will be interesting to see what he does if the Warriors fail to win a title this year. Durant, however, seems to be happy with his new team, and doesn’t have any plans to leave at this time.

“I haven’t even thought about it that much, but I don’t plan on going anywhere else,” Durant told Marcus Thompson and Tim Kawakami, during an appearance on the Warriors Plus/Minus podcast.

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Durant is currently playing on a two-year deal he signed with the team last July. It gives him a player option for 2017-18, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere. The option is worth $27.7 million, though, and might make it difficult for the team to retain some of its other impending free agents. Durant doesn’t seem worried, though.

“Obviously you want to keep this group together, you want to see how far we can go,” he said. “I’m sure once the season is over with we can figure out that stuff, everybody, and I’m sure it will all work out for the best.”

For now, the team is obviously focused on winning a title, but it will be interesting to see what happens this summer.