While Kevin Durant has made no decision on his future, there seems to be a growing buzz in league circles that he will be moving on from the Warriors this summer. That was the expected outcome all season long - with the Knicks as the frontrunners to land him - but his ruptured Achilles in Game 5 of the Finals threw everything into doubt for a while.

If he is going to leave, the Warriors are offering to get him some more cash on the way out the door - and make sure they get some compensation - with a delayed sign-and-trade deal. ESPN's Brian Windhorst brought that possibility up Thursday morning on "Get Up!" (Hat tip Hoops Rumors )

"Let him rehab and then work with him to be traded. Potentially to New York, potentially to somewhere else. Be their way to sort of take care of him monetarily after what he just went through and also protect the franchise to get some assets. If that happens, the Knicks would be in tremendous position to get back into it because they're going to have these young assets plus cap space…

"For lack of a better term, it would be a delayed sign and trade. It's the only way Durant could get five years and play elsewhere… The Warriors go into this as a bit of a last-ditch effort to not lose Kevin Durant for nothing. And what he would get out of it would be an extra $57 million come off of a devastating injury."

The Warriors can sign Durant to a five-year, $221 million contract that no other team can offer. The NBA changed the sign-and-trade rules in the latest CBA, teams cannot do a sign-and-trade for more than the max the team that would ultimately acquiring the player could have offered anyway. It took the financial incentive to do a sign-and-trade off the table.

However, an implicit agreement to trade Durant at the trade deadline in February, or next summer, to a place he wants to go sidesteps that NBA rule. Coming off an Achilles injury at age 31, that guaranteed cash may matter.

To do this means Durant is putting a lot of trust in the Warriors front office to live up to the bargain, and for that matter in the Knicks/Nets/whoever front office not try to lowball an offer for Durant to the point the Warriors don't want to do it. Everyone will have to play nice. Does Durant want to bet on that?

Teams would prefer to just sign Durant outright rather than give up assets to get him, but the ball is in Durant's court. Whatever he decides, teams will still chase him.