Kevin Durant is an extremely outspoken person. Throughout his 18 years in the NBA, he’s never been afraid to express his opinion. And that’s exactly happened this week. Durant sat down with Speedy Morman for a wide-ranging conversation.
Morman is a journalist who conducts interviews for Boardroom. Boardroom is a sports, media, and entertainment company that Durant himself and sports executive Rich Kleiman founded together. Durant made time for an exclusive interview on his own platform during a sit down with Morman.
Kevin Durant Gives Opinion on Jalen Brunson Taking $100 Million Pay Cut
The conversation made its way from Jalen Brunson leaving a massive amount of money on the table, to the New York Knicks championship to LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant went in-depth on Brunson’s $100 million decision, admitting he wouldn’t have done the same thing.
“Yeah, it’s crazy. I don’t think I would have been advised to do that. I would have gotten talked out of it. I probably would have been like, ‘All right, I’m cool with it.’ I’d have sat down and talked to all my people like I usually do, Rich, all my friends. Like, ‘What? Are you serious? Why do you need to take that risk when this dude’s a billionaire?'” Durant said.
During the offseason ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, Brunson left $113 million on the table by signing a team-friendly four-year, $156 million contract extension with the Knicks. Brunson would have been eligible for a max five-year, $269 million deal the following year. The decision is somewhat unprecedented. However, in hindsight, it’s worked out with the Knicks building a championship roster with the extra money.
Durant gave more of his thoughts on Brunson’s decision, giving Brunson props for having the guts to make such a decision.
“I understand his thought process and why he actually executed that. I can’t put myself in that position and just say, ‘Yeah, I would have done it or not.’ For him to make that decision and come out the way it did, kudos to him. But hopefully he gets that back on the back end,” said Durant.
Durant, as a savvy basketball mind and businessman, understands the deeper reasons Brunson chose to leave money on the table. It allowed the Knicks to build a better roster, and his gamble will presumably pay off in future earnings and adoration.
“If you just throw that on the table and say, right now, make a choice, nobody would turn that down. But if you sat down and thought about it and they put everything on the table, ‘This will happen in four years if you do this, this is how the team could be built, we could for sure win a chip’, it sounds good when you sell it to somebody that way,” Durant said.
Brunson Forever Immortalized in New York City
Brunson helped deliver the Knicks their first NBA championship in 53 years. After dropping 45 points in the closeout, Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Brunson has seemingly become the unofficial Mayor of New York City.
Brunson, in his fourth season with the Knicks, continued his stellar play. He averaged 26.0 points, 6.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 made 3-pointers per game. He was an All-Star and made an All-NBA team (second), both for the third consecutive season. And for the fifth straight season, his points per game average increased during the playoffs (28.4 this season) as compared to the regular season.
“He also solidified himself in New York City, which is the biggest money-maker in the world. It’s a bold decision and it paid off,” Durant said.
Kevin Durant Drops Brutally Honest Opinion on Jalen Brunson Taking $100 Million Pay Cut