Golden State Warriors: 2016 Offseason Grades
The Best Acquisition Of The Summer
The reason the Golden State Warriors won the summer? They signed a future Hall of Famer in Kevin Durant. Obviously.
As first announced by Durant himself on The Player’s Tribune, the former Oklahoma City Thunder star will be joining forces with the back-to-back reigning MVP Stephen Curry, his All-NBA backcourt companion Klay Thompson, and the league’s biggest hate-him-or-love-him player, Draymond Green. KD agreed to a two-year, $54.3 million deal with a player option for the second year.
In the process, the Dubs added the 2014 league MVP to the 2015 and 2016 MVP, making themselves automatic favorites to win the title next season. They may not win 73 games again, but there’s no doubt that anything less than a title in 2016-17 would be a massive disappointment.
In meeting, Bob Myers told Durant: Without you, we can another title or two. Without us, you might win too. Together? We'll win a bunch.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2016
This 1+1 deal not only forms perhaps the most dynamic super-team in NBA history, but it also gives KD the power to play the year out with the Warriors and rejoin free agency next summer, when the salary cap jumps once again to a projected $102 million.
With a core of Curry, Thompson, KD, Green, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, the Warriors can unleash the most terrifying small-ball unit the league has ever seen, but sacrifices to their bench depth were necessary in order to fill out the roster.
Restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli had to be renounced, signing with the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively. Andrew Bogut had to be dumped. Reserves like Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa signed elsewhere for more lucrative deals rather than return on a veteran minimum contract.
People acting like Dubs bench was so incredible. It had moments but inconsistent, limited. Biggest loss? Ezeli. Irreplaceable parts remain
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) July 5, 2016
Luckily for the Dubs, they now have the most terrifying four-man core in the NBA and that should be fairly attractive to the remaining free agents still on the market. Even before filling out the rest of the roster so efficiently, this move won the offseason for Golden State.
Live Feed
Blue Man Hoop
Moving forward, there will be an adjustment period for Durant and the Warriors. Curry and Durant both need the ball in their hands to be successful, and there still need to be shots to go around for Thompson and Green — who became something of a distraction last year — as well.
However, the Dubs have assembled the closest thing to a Dream Team that’s possible under the current CBA, and there’s no question that KD will benefit from all the open three-point looks that Barnes enjoyed last season.
Barnes shot 38.3 percent from three-point range before falling apart in the last three games of the Finals; good luck expecting the same thing to happen with Durant on the wing. In the event the Splash Brothers start missing all their shots again, Golden State now has a bail-out option with yet another player who can completely take over a game.
The Thunder, Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat all vied for Kevin Durant’s services, and no matter which team he chose, that team would’ve been a bonafide title contender.
The fact that he chose the best team of the bunch — a team whose Finals defeat marked the greatest upset in NBA history after winning 73 games — is downright terrifying for the rest of the league.
Grade: A+
Next: Bye-Bye, Bogut