Kevin Durant has sent the State of Oklahoma into a depression and the Bay Area into euphoria on the Fourth of July.
Granted, Oklahoma bleeds Sooner red but losing Durant was the worst possible scenario at the present time. After nine seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle Supersonics, Durant announced Monday that he will be joining the Golden State Warriors. The same team that Durant’s Thunder had on the precipice of elimination in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder led 3-1 over Golden State only to lose the series 4-3. The Warriors subsequently coughed up a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers and lost 4-3 after winning an NBA record 73 regular season games.
According to ESPN, Durant will sign a two-year contract worth $54.3 million dollars that includes a player option after the first season. Durant’s arrival also means the Warriors are not likely to match the Dallas Mavericks offer sheet of four years, $95 million dollars to Harrison Barnes. Durant’s arrival also likely means the end of center Andrew Bogut’s career in Golden State.
For Warrior fans, Durant’s arrival is a mixture of Christmas coming early and an antidote for their NBA Finals loss. They are dancing in the streets as we speak.
With Durant’s signing, the Warriors now have four All-Stars in their prime, joining Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Did the Warriors get better? On the surface, yes. Durant can certainly do that for any team. As we speak, social media is lighting up like a Roman Candle with people planning the Warriors next parade in June 2017.
Count me in the minority but I am skeptical of this move. Sure, the Warriors will win 60 games by accident. However, the franchise has created a culture where winning championships is all that matters. This signing in no way guarantees that scenario.
In fact, I think this move is just as likely to be costly, not in dollar amounts per se but in dismantling the roster, you affect the chemistry you built for a team that won 140 regular season games in two years, one of which ended in an NBA title. Sure, a variety of scenarios led the coughing up a 3-1 lead to Cleveland but is that really a reason to dismantle chemistry?
Some will point to Green’s Game 5 suspension for the Warriors losing the series but I say nonsense because Green played in Games 6 and 7. Plus, you had a 3-1 lead. It is a fair point though that Bogut not playing Games 6 and 7 coupled with Andre Iguodala and Curry being a shadow of themselves hurt Golden State’s cause.
The Warriors mantra of “Strength in Numbers” was not just a slogan. It was real. I still believe that a healthy Warriors team wins that series eight times out of ten.
OK, I can hear Warriors grovelling right now at reading this. “Vince, you’re being a hater!” Spare me of that rookie league response.
Make no mistake, Durant is an exceptional talent. His resume speaks for itself. Durant is a seven-time NBA All-Star, five-time first-team all-NBA and 2014 NBA MVP. In nine years, the 27-year old has a career scoring average of 27.4 points per game, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocked shots.
The problem with the Warriors landing Durant is this: you already have three scorers (Thompson, Curry, and Green). Last time I checked, there is only one basketball. So if there are five seconds left in the game, who would Warriors head coach Steve Kerr draw up to take the last shot, Curry or Durant? That may seem like a great problem but as much as anyone can say they’ll make it work, do you really think Curry, Thompson or Green would be the good soldier to make room for Durant? They may be happy now but the reality of this matter has not arrived yet.
Also, assuming Bogut is gone, Durant’s signing also does not address rebounding and rim protection, two areas they were deficient at against Oklahoma City and Cleveland. I get parting ways with Bogut but you need a player with similar skills.
With the exception of football, chemistry matters most in basketball. You not only need five guys executing their assignments but you need stars and complementary/role players to mesh. You can take most any NBA team that has gone on an extended run of success. They have had Hall of Famers but they also had complimentary players that wore beige and blended. Since I am only 43 years old, I can only make a case for the teams I watched so no offense to the Bill Russell era Boston Celtic fans.
The 1980s Celtics won three NBA titles in six seasons led by Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish. Boston, however, also does not win those titles without Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell and Danny Ainge.
The 1980s Los Angeles Lakers won five NBA titles in nine years led by Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers, however, also do not achieve that success without Byron Scott and Michael Cooper.
The 1990s Chicago Bulls won six NBA titles in eight seasons thanks to Hall of Famers like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The Bulls, however, also do not achieve that success without Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc.
The late 1990s to present San Antonio Spurs have five NBA titles to their name, including three in a five year span from 2003-2007. You have two Hall of Famers in Tim Duncan and David Robinson along with two more probable HOF selections in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli. The Spurs, however, also do not attain that success without players like Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry.
The 2000s Lakers won five titles thanks in large part to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. The Lakers, however, also don’t achieve that success without the Derek Fishers and Luke Waltons of the world.
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