LyleLanley
Banned
Kevin Durant to the Warriors is an interesting thought but wouldn't the team salary get out of control once Curry is due for his monster raise and the repeater tax starts kicking in?
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NBA Finals 2016 |OT| - The King demands seconds. The Chef delivers.
- Thread starter Gully State
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Jag
Member
Gully State
Member
Warriors' salary
The only players on a long term contract are Dray and Klay. Steph is obviously going to get max money but this roster has a ton of flexibility for the next few years. We could definitely fit Durant in but there would have to be a bit of a roster overhaul and an obvious sacrifice of depth. Hopefully Kevon Looney pans out to something.
From Google
Next year's is not 89 million but closer to 92 million.
The only players on a long term contract are Dray and Klay. Steph is obviously going to get max money but this roster has a ton of flexibility for the next few years. We could definitely fit Durant in but there would have to be a bit of a roster overhaul and an obvious sacrifice of depth. Hopefully Kevon Looney pans out to something.
From Google
Next year's is not 89 million but closer to 92 million.
CopperPuppy
Member
LeBron v. Durant ECFs year after year would be delicious.
PadWarrior
Member
What if Lebron leaves the Cavs for the Thunder?
rokkerkory
Member
I want to thank OKC for giving GSW all they had. It made GSW much more smarter playing defensively.
This is why Cavs are getting beat. They didn't expect this level of masterfulness since they didn't really need to up their D game in the East finals.
This is why Cavs are getting beat. They didn't expect this level of masterfulness since they didn't really need to up their D game in the East finals.
LyleLanley
Banned
What if him and Durant just switch places?
Livingskeletons
If I pulled that off, would you die?
A good lockeroom is key for most championship teams.
Warriors seemed to be one of the closest teams in recent memory though.
Gully State
Member
Problem is that we most likely are losing either Barnes or Ezeli.
They don't really need it...but hey, the rich get richer.
I honestly don't think he'd have a problem fitting in either. KD is a pure "on the court" type. He loves his guys he's playing with and loves playing. Same for the Warriors. He clearly isn't the type to be salty about not getting every shot every game since he plays with Westbrook.
Not only does his personality fit, but position-wise there's a fit as well. This doesn't disrupt any of the guard rotations for Kerr because the Splash Bros are irreplaceable. Out of all of the starters, Barnes is the weakest and most expendable link. The only problem is getting talent for the bench, but I'd trust the FO to find that.
This is actually the most important thing regarding any of the KD to GSW talk.
I somewhat agree...but I don't know if anywhere that he went East would even make a difference. As a matter of fact, this would make the Warriors chances of domination better.
-KD now has to compete with LeBron in the East. You'll either face one or the other in the finals.
-No where in the East has a Westbrook (for better or worse) nor a frontline like OKC's.
-OKC would now be without KD, meaning that again, the Warriors apparent biggest rival is now gutted.
rokkerkory
Member
This is true, but change will be out of their control anyways with some key elements leaving the team (likely ie Harrison and Festus)
Ninja Scooter
Member
next season is probably when the Warriors will need their depth more than ever. The physical/mental toll of making a third straight Finals could start to creep in.
PadWarrior
Member
Question is who would replace Barnes in the death lineup?
Ninja Scooter
Member
maybe they can sign Marvin Williams on the cheap?
i3allistic
Member
Evan Turner? Marvin Williams? Ryan Anderson?
beat
Member
The stars have to step up and replace his contribution. You can't keep everyone once you start winning. You have to fill in the holes as best you can and the stars have to keep elevating their game.
I really hope KD doesn't pull a decision and go ring shopping in GS. Stay in OKC. You have a championship team there. Get fired up over the offseason and come back on a mission. Hopefully Cleveland does the same thing next year and we get several classic playoff series next year.
PadWarrior
Member
I thought the Pelicans would do their all to not lose Anderson?
I agree I want the Thunder Warriors rivalry to last a bit.
LyleLanley
Banned
I don't think Evan Turner is a good fit and he'll probably cost enough that the Warriors would be better off just spending more money to keep Barnes.
La Familia.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Tristian Thompson played well for them in last year's Finals, despite all of his obvious defeciencies, so the thinking is that since LeBron is in "all in" mode for this season, and the alternative was to lose Thompson for nothing and be unable to replace him in the lineup due to their cap situation, that LeBron pushed the front office to do whatever it took to bring Thompson back, regardless of the long term implications.
It also doesn't help that TT is represented by the same management group founded by LeBron's childhood friend. It was essentially viewed as a power play move on LeBron's part.
DietRob
i've been begging for over 5 years.
Ok... I guess I don't really believe LeBron is the "GM" like so many other people do. The extreme hate he still gets confuses me.
Cool thanks for taking the time to explain that. I still don't think LeBron holds as much power or influence in big decisions like that though.
Yeah, his defense and rebounding at the 4 will be hard to replace. He's basically the backup power forward.
Finding a new small forward and an athletic talent at center will be important going forward. Bogut can't do it for a full game and it seems like Ezeli can't either.
It's still crazy to me that GS could have drafted Gobert. Him starting next to Draymond would be insane...
Gully State
Member
Why wouldn't he? He's one of a handful of irreplaceable franchise players in the league on a two year max contract with the second year being a player option.
Gully State
Member
We could've had Drummond instead of Barnes, not that Barnes hasn't been solid.
I feel like Ezeli and Biyombo are the future Tristan Thompson's of this league. Gonna get paid out the ass.
Ninja Scooter
Member
All signs point to him having that much influence. The "letter" not including Wiggins and Bennett. The Thompson signing. The Lue hiring. Him signing one year contracts. It all could just be coincidences, i guess, but it's pretty clear to me LeBron is absolutely asserting his influence on this franchise.
At the time not many expected Drummond to be the All-Star/All Team NBA type player he has found himself at this season.
Drummond is only 22 and is pretty scary already. If the NBA does kill the Hack-A rule this summer as seems likely that is going to make him a hell of a lot scarier.
Gully State
Member
Everyone's gonna get paid out the ass. Seems like most teams will have cap space this offseason.
Gully State
Member
Yeah I remember the scouting report...his work ethic was questioned. But then who knew Gobert would blow up? I mean given the information at the time, Barnes was the most solid pick at 7.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Kobe the real FMVP
I would love Biyombo on Golden State right now. Like no GS center has ever gotten 26 rebounds in a game. Not that Bogut doesn't do a lot of good things, but he simply can't bring it every night at this point.
But guess we'll have to see if this postseason was an anomaly for Bismack. I could see him getting a big deal this summer and then not living up to it.
DietRob
i've been begging for over 5 years.
Fair enough. I'm not delusional so I know just by the fact of him being LeBron James and a top 5 talent in the league gives him a fair amount of influence like many other top stars have. But I also think that Cleveland sports in general have terrible front office management and could shoulder a considerable amount of blame for some of these decisions too.
I really don't think Drummond becomes who he became without a hard-ass tough coach like Stan Van Gundy coaching him. The timing of Drummonds rise as a player and SVG coming in line up very clearly.
Put Drummond on a team with revolving coaches that really don't have much control over the players like Cleveland, Orlando, or Sacramento and Drummond would have not developed like this I suspect.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Barnes is gone, I see Ezeli going as well since he can probably earn 30-50% what he can earn with the Warriors next season.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Ultimately the Cleveland front office and ownership is still responsible if they are giving in to LeBron's influence, especially if it's doing things that end up not working out.
Good stuff. Has anyone written about why Curry is switching on to LeBron in PnR situations? It doesn't make sense to me. I also don't get why Klay, Green, and Iggy are playing so close to LeBron when he's past the three-point line.
Gully State
Member
No you're right that ownership takes equal parts of the blame if not more because at the end of the day, they make the direct decision. A stronger front office would never cede that kind of power.
PadWarrior
Member
Good question be curious to see if Curry switches to him in game 3.
Maybe the pressure of the situation is getting to him a bit.
PadWarrior
Member
Stephen A. Smith on first take https://youtu.be/CLbMUdm_NqQ
Watching the game it looked like he simply wanted the challenge.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Lebron with space is a better 3 point shooter and distributor. Better to keep him off balance and pressured, even if it means Curry giving up a few post-ups here and there.
PadWarrior
Member
Iggy owning him again.
Curry should actually give up those post-ups though instead of fouling so we can see him light it up instead of just playing 2K
ryutaro's mama
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Iggy Lannister
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