His at ude was for already. If he were on the roster with the Spurs having declined an option, he would be unplayable. You can’t really keep a player who’s option you’ve declined, and expect them to play hard, not that he ever did before. Declining the option says that player isn’t in your future development plan. At that point, he’s a guy on your roster competing for a spot. KBD was the clear better choice for this roster.