Suns’ Mat Ishbia expects Kevin Durant to sign contract extension after 2024-25 season | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is under contract through the 2025-26 season, but team governor Mat Ishbia expects him to sign an extension after the current season.

“We have a good relationship with Kevin,” he told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday. “He’s a great guy, he loves being in Phoenix, we love having him. He’s off to a great start this season, one of the MVP leaders, and we’re off to a very good start. We expect, that Kevin signs an extension. , be with us for the long haul. We hope he finishes his career here in Phoenix … We figured we’d talk about it, but Kevin’s never been here a grumble about something else.”

Durant could have signed a one-year extension prior to the 2024-2025 campaign for $59.7 million due to Over-38 rulethat would have kept him with the team through the 2026-27 season. In the summer, however, he will be eligible to sign a two-year, $120 million extension that would take him through the 2027-28 campaign.

If he were to sign that contract and see it out in Phoenix, it would take him to seven seasons with the franchise. Durant hasn’t spent more than parts of four seasons with any franchise since leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.

Obviously, how things go with the Suns this season could play a role in his decision to stay with Phoenix for the rest of his career. So far, the team has not reached the lofty heights promised when they acquired him, with championships as the expectation.

And last year’s trio of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal never quite gelled or managed to stay healthy simultaneously for long periods of time, leading to a 49-33 regular season and a disappointing first-round sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference- the playoffs.

The team has been solid to start the 2024-25 campaign, though, with a 9-6 record. Even at age 36, Durant has shown little sign of slowing down, averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

At some point, Father Time might catch up with him, and the potential extension could weigh heavily on Phoenix’s books. For now, though, Durant is still one of the league’s top players, and it makes sense for the Suns to keep him paired with Booker as long as he continues to produce.