Durant off to a new superteam?
With Lakers on the rise, rivalry set to heat up again
Golden State already had a black and blue problem, with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant suffering massive injuries in the NBA Finals.
Now it has a big purple and gold problem, too.
In a wideopen Western Conference — one in which, contrary to popular perception, the Warriors should not yet be written off — the Lakers have emerged as a leading force.
By acquiring Anthony Davis and, as of Thursday, clearing the books to create enough money to sign a max-value player once the NBA’S sham free-agency moratorium is lifted this afternoon, another superteam is forming around Lebron James in Hollywood. The Lakers are in position to possibly have three of the top 10 players in the NBA in the same starting lineup come opening night 2019.
The Warriors — who certainly know what boasting that kind of star power feels like — can’t do anything to stop the Lakers’ rise. This was predictable, even if Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka took a strange, circuitous
route to reach this point.
But while the Davis acquisition and the possibility of another big-money star (Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler ... Kyrie Irving?) heading to town will draw attention and likely make the Lakers title favorites, the real concern for the Warriors is that the Lakers are poised to make massive moves on the bottom end of their roster as well.
Even if the Warriors re-sign Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, general manager Bob Myers is going to need to make deft moves in the offseason to ensure that the Warriors will make the playoffs in their first year at their new San Francisco arena. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are really good, but so is the rest of the Western Conference.
And the Warriors are also over the salary cap — way, way over the salary cap — regardless of Durant’s decision. (Thompson is expected to re-sign in short order.)
That means that outside of using their mid-level exception, the Warriors will only be able to sign players to minimumvalue contracts this offseason.
Trying to get quality NBA players on league-minimum contracts is an intrinsically tricky proposition, but the Warriors have found some luck with young, developmental players (Quinn Cook, Alfonzo Mckinnie) and “ring-chasing” veterans like David West and Leandro Barbosa.
The Warriors will need to continue to hit with early career and underrated players — spotting and developing young cheap talent will need to be a hallmark of the franchise if they are to remain top title contenders well into the next decade, no matter what happens with the top-flight free agents this summer — but particularly for the 2019-20 season, Myers will need to sign proven, reliable veterans to fill out the team’s roster.
The Warriors have been the logical top destination for true ring chasers in recent years, as they’ve been the prohibitive title favorites.
And while California, the Bay Area and Stephen Curry will always make the Dubs an attractive landing spot, the Warriors are now part of the title-chasing pack in the Western Conference,
meaning that they‘re not the top option anymore.
The new top option is, without question, the Lakers.
Regardless of what the Lakers do with their newfound salary-cap space — they could, in theory, sign three $10 million players instead of one max-level guy — they, like the Warriors, will need to fill out their roster with minimum contracts. At the moment, they have only two players under contract for next year — James and Kyle Kuzma. That will change in the coming days as trades become final, but the point stands: The Lakers are going to need to sign a lot of dudes, on the cheap, in the next few weeks.
They should have the pick of the litter. This is no comment on our fine area, but countless NBA players live in Los Angeles in the offseason, and James — for all his perceived warts — was able to recruit players to join him for winters in Cleveland. How much easier will his pitch be now?
The veteran minimum market is typically slow developing — the big names sign first, then the mid-level guys, and then teams see who is still remaining and players see which teams spent all their money.
But the Warriors cannot afford to sit around and wait for guys to come to them, looking for a one-year, prove-it deal or a career-validating seasons. No, the competition for the Demarre Carrolls and Seth Currys and Javale Mcgees of the league should be hot and heavy this summer. The Clippers and Nets — if they land their top free-agent targets — can offer marquee markets and title contention, too.
The Warriors are the richest team in the NBA, with a new arena in a worldclass city and a style of play that brings out the best in everyone, led by a no-ego superstar. They’ll land some excellent free agents.
But will they get their top targets at the minimum?
And we know — beyond a shadow of a doubt — that Lebron is already recruiting. He never stops — even Nick Saban takes a week off every year.
Can Myers, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green beat him on the trail?
Welcome to the real first chapter of the new and improved Warriors-lakers rivalry.