I had every intention of keeping this post as simple as possible, but when have y'all ever known me to do that?!?! I'm not afraid to admit it: I just don't do brief, especially when it comes to breaking news like seven-time All-Star, four-time scoring champ and former NBA MVP Kevin Durant signing a two-year, $54.3 million deal with the Golden State Warriors--yup, the same team that kept him, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder from what appeared to be a surefire date with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals. It seems like more people have been talking about this and nearly choking on their burnt hot dogs and potato salad in the process than the news that the FBI has decided not to charge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information in her emails. (You're probably thinking, "Well Dirk, you're doing the same thing." My response: politics suck right now. It's either going to be a shady Hillary Clinton or a baseless Donald Trump for President of the United States...who TF wants to talk about that?!?!) My overall position, however, is simple: neither am I in love with this move for Durant nor the Warriors...yet. Indulge me...
When the Warriors had one of the biggest collapses in sports history against the Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, a few things were clear. First, the loss of Andrew Bogut in Game 5 hurt them tremendously because there was no intimidating presence at the rim to discourage LeBron James, Tristan Thompson or Kyrie Irving from entering the low post--not to mention that Draymond Green's suspension hurt them in that game as well. Second, outside of the prowess of Green, Klay Thompson and a hobbled Andre Iguodala in the last few games of the series, the wheels came off of the Warriors' ability to defend well--although that had become evident when they had issues with Durant, Westbrook and the Thunder in the first few games of the Western Conference Finals. Third, outside of Bogut as a starter, the Warriors' strength is not in the paint as they lived and died by the three ball and the perimeter shot. Green is by far their most fearless and physical player on both ends of the court, but there's nobody who can really impose their will down low. Hence, knowing what Golden State needs to take them a little more over the top, I was not initially excited about the prospect of Durant going to the Bay Area when free agency began and people were talking about "packages" being prepared for him.
With that said, let's talk about his would've-been landing spots. Off the rip, I'm so glad that he didn't come home to D.C. and play for the Wizards because 1) they have good starters, but I'm not that impressed with them as a deep team, 2) I don't know if Durant necessarily wants to be reunited with new Wizards head coach Scott Brooks and 3) D.C. is the worst place to come if you're from here because the entitled, crab-in-a-barrel mentality will be in full effect. Neither the Knicks nor the Spurs would've been exceptionally ideal because both Carmelo Anthony and Kawhi Leonard play the same position as Durant, although I originally liked San Antone for him. I wasn't in love with him going to either the Celtics or the Lakers, especially the latter because they're really in rebuilding mode. As far as I'm concerned, the best choices outside of the Warriors were the Heat, but only if it could be guaranteed that both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would be healthy next year and Hasaan Whiteside didn't get lost to free agency; staying in Oklahoma City, but only if it could be guaranteed that Russell Westbrook facilitated effective ball movement at least 85 percent of the time and they acquired another dependable weapon or stout defender; and the Clippers. Despite shotty ownership and meh-as-of-late coaching, I particularly salivated at the last option because imagine Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Kevin Durant all on the same team? That could've been the epitome of "variety is the spice of life", but at the end of the business day, they are still the Clippers and are prone to be good but not good enough.
So what did the Warriors lose? In order to make room for Durant, Bogut became a salary cap casualty and they renounced their free agent rights to both Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. Although Ezeli has yet to find a new home, Bogut was traded to the Mavericks while Barnes went there for the max deal of four years, $94 million. (Let me tell it, they grossly overpaid for him, but hey...if they like it, I guess I love it.) Essentially, they lost a solid rim protector and rebounder in Bogut, an average scorer with the potential to light it up in when he wants in Barnes and a decent backup in Ezeli, although he was a horrific free-throw shooter. What else did they gain aside from Durant? They just added Zaza Pachulia from the Mavericks, who replaces Bogut and gives them rebounds on the offensive boards, the ability to pass, solid defense, little demand in terms of scoring and a smart player; and veteran David West, who will definitely add some more toughness to their squad off of the bench playing behind Draymond Green after helping to make the Spurs' bench one of the most efficient in the league. Although they were sagacious in re-upping with Sean Livingston, they stand to lose Leandro Barbosa, Mareese Speights aka "Mo Buckets" (arguably the coolest nickname in pro basketball, by the way) and four other players to free agency. That's particularly important because they can only offer minimum salaries at this point because of the Durant deal, which may encourage their remaining free agents to test the waters but lure others who will do whatever it takes to win a championship.
Now for the part that really counts: does Kevin Durant help or hurt the Warriors' chances of not only returning to the NBA Finals in 2017--more than likely for a "three-match" with the Cavs--but winning it all? Offensively, you replace an inconsistent Barnes with a more prolific scorer in Durant as he can score from anywhere on the court and has one of the purest jump shots in the game. However, although he can score in the paint, his low-post game is not his calling card and that might be due to his lighter weight compared to other players at his height and with his wingspan--which is one of my gripes about this deal. Also, if the rumors are that he got tired of Russell Westbrook hogging the ball, how will he deal with being on a team with the Splash Brothers? Granted, he could easily become a third Splash Brother, but somebody's numbers are going to suffer a bit unless they just score like 200 points per game as Wizards center Marcin Gortat hilariously suggested on Twitter. It could work because the Warriors can spread the ball around better than most teams when they stick to their game plan, but I just hope that it doesn't become one of those locker room schisms. Defensively, you're not gaining an elite defender whatsoever and that's my biggest issue with the Durant signing. In the potential starting five for 2016-17, Green and Thompson are the best defenders followed by Pachulia, but Curry and Durant are clearly the liabilities and teams will key in on that. Maybe they'll take the attitude that part of your best defense is even better offense, but Pistons center Andre Drummond may have said it best: "They still gotta come down the other end [defensively]...Not a very big team."
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Despite two of my favorite five players of the current NBA crop now joining forces, I'm not ready to crown the Golden State Warriors just yet. Does the Kevin Durant signing shape them up to be the best team in the Western Conference? More than likely. Still having Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge as your premier players makes the Spurs their best competition, although I wouldn't sleep on the Blazers if I were y'all. (They might have to make some more moves, but still...they're no pushovers.) Does Durant's addition mean that they can unseat LeBron and the Cavs as NBA Champs? Eh, I'd pump my brakes on heading to Vegas and placing bets on the Warriors in July. I will say this about the signing: for anybody who takes vehement issue with Durant leaving OKC for greener pastures and is willing to go so far as to treat the Warriors like some sort of "evil empire", build a bridge and get over it; it's called "free agency" for a reason. People can make it seem like this era is about chasing rings, but let's not forget about Charles Barkley going to two different teams for one (but never getting it), Karl Malone failing three times with two different squads for one (but never getting it), Gary Payton playing on two Finals teams before finally winning with Miami in 2006 or Clyde Drexler going from a Blazers team that lost to Jordan in the '92 Finals to a Rockets team that swept the Magic in '95. Miss me with the shots at Durant, LeBron or anybody else who wants to win because what's the point of playing at the highest level if you're not trying to win at the highest level? Besides, since Lil B has decided to lift his five-year curse on KD after he called The Based God a "wack rapper", there might be hope in Oakland just yet--and everybody knows that Lil B's curses are real.
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