Kevin Durant Reveals If He'd Take $100M Pay Cut to Chase NBA Title After Brunson, Knicks' Finals Run

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson took $113 million less on his contract extension in 2024 to help give his team more financial flexibility to build a strong squad, and two years later, the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 seasons.

In the latest edition of Boardroom Talks, Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant was asked if he would make a similar move (8:20 mark). He provided the following response.

"I mean, I don't think I would be advised to do that. I mean, I would have got talked out of it. I probably would have been like, 'All right, I'm cool with it.' And then I'd have sat down and talked to all my people like I usually do, [Rich Kleiman], all my friends, everyone would have been like, 'What are you serious? Why do you need to take that risk when this dude's a billionaire?'

"You know what I'm saying? But 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 did it or not. But for him to make that decision and then come out the way it did, kudos to him, but hopefully he gets that back at the back end."

Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 milllion max deal in 2024. If he waited one year, Brunson would have been eligible for a five-year, $269 million deal in 2025.

Adrian Wojnarowski, then of ESPN, broke it all down.

The Knicks made important moves in 2024 to build their roster.

One month before the Brunson deal, New York signed OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million contract.

Soon after the Brunson move, the Knicks traded for Brooklyn Nets wing Mikal Bridges. They signed him to a four-year, $150 million extension one year later. The Knicks also added Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns via trade in Oct. 2024.

Brunson certainly made an unprecedented financial sacrifice for the good of the team. It's certainly understandable if other players (or those players' representatives) wouldn't be in favor of such moves. However, it worked out quite well for the Knicks.