Even after they won an NBA-record 73 games last regular season, many seem to think that the Golden State Warriors will easily be able to surpass that mark after staging the coup of the offseason by landing former MVP Kevin Durant. But general manager Bob Myers wants to pump the brakes a bit.
In an interview with KNBR 680 on Wednesday, Myers attempted to temper expectations for 2016-17.
“I think a lot of people think we signed Durant and everything is great, which in reality, that is a really good thing,” Myers said, per CSN Bay Area. “But we have a lot of new parts. This is not a team like last year’s team, where we could just hit training camp in stride. As much as we like our roster, it’s gonna take some time to evolve.
“Even though we’re happy with the offseason, I do think we’re gonna have some turbulence,” Myers continued. “Because the other thing is, I think the scrutiny on the team is gonna be so high that any loss, anything that happens in a negative way, is gonna be exaggerated. It’s just gonna be, ‘I can’t believe they lost a home game,’ or ‘I can’t believe they lost two in a row,’ … people might write or say, ‘Well, they’re not as good as last year,’ so there will be some challenges and incorporating a really, really good player into our team.”
People tend to overlook continuity and team chemistry building when they assume that Golden State will smash the earth right off the bat. For as wildly gifted as Durant is, the Warriors will still have to reinvent themselves after the losses of two starters (Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut) as well as several key bench contributors (Leandro Barbosa, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, and, to a lesser extent, Brandon Rush).
It’s always a culture shock to add a large-volume scorer to an established, championship-proven system where everybody already knows and is comfortable with their role. Durant will have his fair share of adjusting to do as well. The Warriors will figure it out eventually, because talent almost always finds a way to win out at the end of the day. But with a target on their back from every single team they play next season (a rarity for a non-defending champion), it will take some patience, as Myers is preaching.
Image Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
H/T theScore
