Have The Golden State Warriors Ruined The NBA?
By Dan Schultz
With Kevin Durant on the Golden State Warriors, is the NBA in trouble of super-teams overpowering the rest of the competition?
After going 73-9 last season, an NBA record, not many people imagined that the Golden State Warriors could get any better. Although guilty of blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it is clear that they are still a potential dynasty in the making.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are all incredible players, and one has to figure these guys will be in the Bay Area for a long, long time.
When the Warriors added Kevin Durant in free agency, the rest of the league was understandably devastated. Adding a top three player to an already loaded squad seemed to be a nail in the coffin to the confidence of everyone else in the league.
Many are wondering if the NBA might be an utter wasteland for the next few seasons after the Durant acquisition. On paper it seems as though the Warriors have a legendary lineup on their hands and no one will be able to stop them.
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But do they really? Have they truly ruined the rest of the NBA by adding Durant?
After all, they sacrificed a ton of their depth in order to sign Durant. They had to say goodbye to Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Leandro Barbosa and Marreese Speights this summer during free agency.
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All of these players were key contributors to the Warriors winning the title in 2015. This is an underrated story line that not many are talking about, as if Durant singlehandedly cures the Warriors’ sudden lack of depth.
There are also many questions surrounding the shot distribution and the sacrifices the rest of the Warriors will have to make for Durant. This is a squad that concentrates on keeping guys like Curry and Thompson happy with their shot selection.
With Durant on board, that means that both of these guys will have to make sacrifices. Unfortunately, this is something Thompson has recently said he will not do.
This is already concerning, because a championship team has to be willing to put aside individual glory in exchange for the common goal of winning a championship. If someone like Thompson lets his ego get in the way, this could be like the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers all over again.
To put it simply, Thompson can’t afford to be the Dwight Howard of this squad.
How Durant fits in with the personalities of Thompson, Curry, and Green will be critical to the overall success of the Warriors. In the last few years, Durant has become more easily agitated, especially in how he deals with the media.
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While not a huge deal, this is also one thing to keep an eye on as well.
Sure, the Warriors’ roster is extremely impressive, and the chances of it becoming lethal are very high. But just like we saw with those 2012-13 Lakers, as well as the 2010-11 Miami Heat, “superteams” don’t always mesh right away.
It is crucial not to get too caught up in recently bias, and to not let lineups on paper fool us, as they have before.
Ultimately, the Warriors should be very successful with this group of players. Assuming they lock up Curry long-term next offseason when he becomes a free agent – which shouldn’t be a problem.
But the combination of losing key role players and the addition of a big ego in Durant suggest the gap may not be as wide as many believe it to be right now.
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Teams like the Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers will all still put up a fight. Now with the Warriors becoming full-on villains led by Durant and Curry, it should make the NBA all the more exciting coming into this season.