Planning: Front office had contingencies ready if Durant hit the road
Warriors general manager Bob Myers made a lastminute change of plans Sunday. Instead of flying to Los Angeles to formally offer Klay Thompson a fiveyear, $190 million maximum contract, Myers headed to New York City to meet with Kevin Durant and his business manager, Rich Kleiman.
Although Myers still hoped he could convince Durant to sign a fiveyear, $221 million supermax deal, he knew the odds were against him, a league source told The Chronicle. Almost anyone who spent considerable time around the Warriors last season did. There had long been a sense within the organization that Durant, who agreed to a fouryear contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, wouldn’t return to Golden State.
When news of Durant’s decision finally
broke, Warriors officials were more disappointed than angry. At no point had Durant misled the team. By agreeing to take part in a signandtrade deal, he did Golden State one last favor.
In recent months, Myers outlined detailed plans should Durant opt not to return to the Warriors. At the root of each of those scenarios was the fact that Golden State would be less talented next season. Even after landing AllStar guard D’Angelo Russell in that signandtrade, the Warriors face the prospect of replacing title contention with playoff contention.
Although Golden State fans might have to adjust their expectations, Myers and head coach Steve Kerr have been bracing for this for years. All dynasties have expiration dates. If the Warriors can develop young players and unearth draftnight gems, they have a shot at replicating the longevity San Antonio modeled for twoplus decades.
In the more immediate term, Golden State can take solace knowing that the proverbial cloud of Durant’s free agency finally has lifted. Make no mistake: The rampant speculation about where Durant would play next season took its toll on the locker room. As one player put it after Durant told reporters in early February that he didn’t trust them, “It’s like the air in here is heavy. Been that way for months.”
For the first time in a halfdecade, Golden State will open a season free of championshiporbust expectations. With Klay Thompson expected to miss most — if not all — of 201920 with an ACL knee injury, the Warriors can focus on their youth movement, grooming players for bigger roles as Thompson (age 29), Draymond Green (29) and Stephen Curry (31) enter the back end of their prime.
Gone is the tired story line of overcoming complacency. To players who grew inured to playing deep into June, the next set of challenges might seem exciting. The Warriors will try to recalibrate on the fly and prove wrong all the critics eulogizing their reign.
In his nine years as majority owner, Joe Lacob has shown a willingness to spend big if it’ll improve the roster. The team’s move to Chase Center in San Francisco next season provides only more motivation for Golden State to stay competitive.
The Warriors still have an outside shot at title contention if all goes their way. Myers, the architect behind Golden State’s championship rosters and a twotime executive of the year, is as wellequipped as anyone to maximize the team’s resources.
In managing to acquire Russell — the top restricted free agent on the market — without any cap space, Myers dredged up chatter about the Warriors being “light years” ahead of their peers. But it came at a steep price. In addition to giving up two firstround picks (one to Brooklyn, one to Memphis) and trading Andre Iguodala to the Grizzlies, Golden State put itself under even tighter salarycap restrictions.
The Warriors felt comfortable taking a risk on Russell because, as a 23yearold fresh off a career season, he figures to have value as a trade chip.
If Russell can learn how to play alongside Curry and, eventually, Thompson, he might develop into one of the key players in Golden State’s next era. Under the plausible scenario that the isolation-heavy Russell is a tough fit for the Warriors’ motion offense, he probably could be dealt at the deadline or next summer for a considerable package.
When Myers awoke Sunday, he wanted to sign Durant to a fiveyear supermax contract and ensure that the dynasty was paused, not done. But when Durant decided to play with his close friends Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in Brooklyn, Myers changed to Plan B.
Heavy salarycap constraints left a signandtrade for Russell as the Warriors’ only way to land a top player to help alleviate Durant’s departure. It might not be ideal, but it’s Golden State’s new reality.