NBA Free Agency 2016: 5 destinations for Kevin Durant
By Tom West
4. Golden State Warriors
When it comes to the suggested free agent destinations for Durant, the Warriors are the most terrifying thought. Not just for the rest of the NBA who are already struggling to keep up with them, but for fans everywhere who don’t want the next few years to be a totally lopsided affair if Golden State get even more dominant.
Any sport is at it’s best when there’s tough competition, and if Durant wants to join a fluid offense where multiple offensive stars are already onboard, he’ll form an even more imposing team and surely rack up a pile of rings.
Yet, if the Warriors win a second straight title this year, why add him in the first place? Of course, he’s Kevin Durant and that speaks for itself. But why would they need to alter their championship-winning formula and historic dominance if it’s already work for two straight seasons and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down?
Well, according to the always brilliant reporting of Adrian Wojnarowski at The Vertical, who first broke this story, the Warriors are interested and are actually considered as significant frontrunners to sign Durant:
"It isn’t only that the NBA champions are determined to recruit Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. The truth is that they’re the most intriguing destination to him. If Durant leaves the Thunder, the Warriors are the significant frontrunners to sign him, league sources told The Vertical."
As good as it first may seem, there are problems to consider for the champions. To accommodate what will be a max contract for Durant, that still won’t be made easy to hand him with the rising salary cap, the Warriors will need to restructure their roster.
As Zach Lowe of ESPN has discussed, multiple contracts will need to be organized and players will need to leave to make room for Durant. Harrison Barnes is on an expiring contract so he’ll need to pick up his sizeable new deal elsewhere, and as Zach Lowe of ESPN has discussed, other players will need to go, too:
"Signing Durant would carry risk, especially with Festus Ezeli’s future unclear after another knee surgery. Signing Durant with cap room would cost Golden State Harrison Barnes, and at least two of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut and Ezeli. The Warriors would have to offload two of those guys into someone else’s cap space, and they are privately worried they might have to attach one or even two future first-round picks to grease the wheels."
As Lowe also pointed out, top-heavy teams loaded with too many stars (such as the Clippers) can struggle to build the kind of depth and talent throughout the rest of their roster. Even with the rising cap space, this will still be the case for the Warriors if they add Durant.
The Warriors pursuing Durant would almost be greedy. In a way, they would be making a superstar acquisition for the sake of it, or for the reasoning of “why not?” Should that really be their motivation? They hardly need to strive to improve, no matter how enticing Durant’s talents are. Especially if they win the championship again this season (which seems increasingly likely), they’ll have commandeered the regular season in historically dominant fashion, perhaps even the most dominant fashion with the best record of all time.
There simply isn’t another level they should be trying to reach, and it shouldn’t come at the cost of losing one of the best defensive and passing centers in the game like Bogut or a couple of key role players to do so. Plus, they shouldn’t mess with their perfect chemistry so casually.
If Durant wants a fast-track route to a ring, though, joining Stephen Curry and Co. could be a near automatic way to do so.
On the other hand, if Durant wants to feel the gratification of bringing another lower contender to championship level or have his own team rather than feeling like an extra piece on an already overpowering franchise, he may well look elsewhere instead.
Next: 3. A sign-and-trade to L.A.