The Golden State Warriors have an opportunity to take on even more star power this offseason in the form of Kevin Durant, but is it one they will try to cash in on?
The Warriors are said to be the favorites to land Durant if he decides to leave Oklahoma City. But Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reports that some members of the Golden State front office are concerned about giving up bench depth and taking on a massive contract.
Most of the two-dozen or so team executives I polled over the past two weeks on the Durant-Warriors possibility described it as a no-brainer (“Bench smench,” texted one GM), but there is some division within the Warriors, and you can understand why. They might have the best basketball team ever assembled! How can you shake that up? They are obliterating victims by about 13 points per 100 possessions. Unless the league adds a 4-point shot or lengthens the game, it is almost literally impossible to get any better. And the Warriors have already been proven right choosing continuity over a sweet-shooting shiny object in Kevin Love.
Signing Durant would carry risk, especially with Festus Ezeli‘s future unclear after another knee surgery. Signing Durant with cap room would cost Golden State Harrison Barnes, and at least two of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut and Ezeli. The Warriors would have to offload two of those guys into someone else’s cap space, and they are privately worried they might have to attach one or even two future first-round picks to grease the wheels.
While most would consider it a no-brainer if Durant wanted to sign with the Warriors, there is something to be said about messing with a good thing. The defending champs are 50-5 and could very well break the NBA record for wins in a single season. It’s hard to imagine Durant not making Golden State better, but do they really need to strap themselves from a salary cap standpoint given how good they already are?
If you want to know how the Warriors feel about the potential of signing Durant, this report should give you a decent idea. Should Durant decide Golden State is where he wants to be, it would take an enormous amount of self control for the Warriors to turn him down.
