Another reason KD may want to come back early
Because there was not a sign-and-trade agreement in place for D’Angelo Russell when Brooklyn’s new stars committed on July 30, both Irving and Durant at first were set to have $4-5 million in unlikely bonuses in their contracts. That extra $10 million -- generated because unlikely bonuses don’t count toward the salary cap -- would have allowed the team to sign Irving and Durant outright and use the remaining room on free agent DeAndre Jordan and second-round pick Nicolas Claxton.
However, both players caught a financial break when Golden State approached Brooklyn later that night about the possibility of acquiring Russell in a sign-and-trade for Durant. Because cap space was not required to sign Durant, Brooklyn only needed to structure $1 million in unlikely bonuses for Irving to still have room for Jordan and Claxton. In total, Durant and Irving could have opened the door to lose a combined $16 million had the Warriors not stepped in at the last minute.
The $1 million in unlikely incentives for Irving are broken into eight $125,000 bonuses, ranging from games played, statistical benchmarks and offensive/defensive rating. All eight are deemed unlikely for cap purposes since they weren’t achieved in 2018-19.
KD got bonuses written into his deal, Marks added. And he’ll likely get this one...
Durant still has a $1 million bonus based on the success of the team -- even if he doesn’t play this season. If the Nets reach the first round of the playoffs or win at least 43 games, Durant reaches the criteria.
He might think Brooklyn might not reach 43 wins and make the playoffs without him and understandably so he's an amazing talent.
I don't think he's greedy for the cash though more likely he's just itching to play.