The Many Ripple Effects Of The Kevin Durant-Warriors Decision
With Kevin Durant agreeing to join the Golden State Warriors, here are the many ripple effects of his power move across the NBA.
With Kevin Durant agreeing to sign a two-year, $54.3 million contract with the Golden State Warriors (with a player option for the second year), the biggest domino of 2016 free agency has fallen.
Though plenty of marquee free agents have made their commitments already, Durant is without question the largest rock thrown into the offseason pond, and the ripple effects of his decision to join forces with a 73-win team will be felt throughout the league.
Coming off the winningest regular season in NBA history and a disappointing seven-game loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, the Dubs had plenty of questions to ponder over the course of a long summer.
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Was Stephen Curry‘s MCL sprain midway through the playoffs part of his inconsistency in the Finals? What happened to Klay Thompson, who ignited one of the greatest players in NBA history thanks to his “This is a man’s league” comments?
Would the Warriors’ fate have been different if Draymond Green hadn’t been suspended for Game 5? And how did one of the NBA’s stingiest defenses fail to slow LeBron James, who dominated every facet of the series from Game 2 onward?
With the addition of Kevin Durant, those questions are rendered all but irrelevant. When you add one of the top five players in the league to another top-five player, when you have a core of pissed off stars looking to avenge playoff defeats after going up 3-1, and when you have a roster where Klay Thompson is your fourth best player, chances are you’re going to alter the course of the 2016-17 season — and possibly NBA history in general.
With Durant making the biggest offseason power move the NBA has seen since LeBron James teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat, it’s time to take a look at the many ripple effects his decision will have on the Warriors, the poor Thunder and the league as a whole.
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