Kawakami: Warriors have a rare opportunity with Durant

[Ca$H]

http://www.mercurynews.com/tim-kawakami/ci_29524045/kawakami-warriors-have-rare-opportunity-durant

[FashionIssues]

curry and klay numbers come faster than durants

[DoctorP]

They would be stupid to break chemistry and get Durant.

[Ca$H]

They would be stupid to break chemistry and get Durant.

But the Warriors front office seems determined to try for Durant, and here's why:

Durant is 27, one of the top three players in the league, with at least five more prime years left, pending his recent foot issues.
Iguodala just turned 32. Bogut is 31.

Curry will turn 28 in May, is signed through July 2017, and the Warriors hope to sign him to a long-term extension for the maximum at that point.

Thompson just turned 26 and is signed through July 2019. Green will turn 26 in a few weeks and is signed through July 2020.

Durant's prime-year career arc matches the Curry-Green-Thompson arc exactly.

Of course, Barnes turns 24 in May, and could turn into a great NBA player; but any executive on earth would speedily give up Barnes prime years for Durant prime years.


Iguodala and Bogut are only signed through the summer of 2017; if the Warriors want to keep them for the long term, they will be looking at paying Bogut and Iguodala into their declining years.
And Barnes' salary, once he hits restricted free agency this summer, might not be a lot lower than anything Durant commands.

Into the future, the prospective Durant trade-off for the Warriors could look something like:


Keeping Barnes at an average of about $22 million and Iguodala and Bogut near $22 million a year combined, OR:

Durant at about $27 million a year for four years.

Lastly, the Warriors only have one more summer to use the space created by Curry's middling contract, signed back when his ankle problems dropped his price.

Once this July passes, Curry will be slotted at about $30 million a season (starting July 2017) -- and by that point the Warriors would no longer have much chance to sign a major free agent.

[Fallen Angel]

Realistically, how much better could the Warriors possibly get with Durant replacing Barnes and whatever other role players GS would have to let go.

[Ca$H]

Realistically, how much better could the Warriors possibly get with Durant replacing Barnes and whatever other role players GS would have to let go.

Tim Kawakami ‏@timkawakami 42m42 minutes ago
Aggressive mgmt thinks like this: Do you want to pay Barnes $22M per + Iguodala/Bogut into their mid-30s... or Durant $27M per in his prime?

Tim Kawakami ‏@timkawakami 46m46 minutes ago
I understand many GSW fans don't want to think about messing with the chemistry. But no guarantee it'll be the same chemistry in 2-3 years.

I have to agree with him. Father time is undefeated. Iggy and Bogut will decline. The dubs can still keep Livingston, Barbosa, Rush, and Looney in addition to the starters- Curry, Klay, Durant, Draygod, and Ezeli. Maybe they can sign Pau Gasol for the MLE too.

[Town's Town]

Is Kawakami a name I should know? I never heard of him, yet he is mentioned in this title like Woj is.

[dazzer87]

why pick up a dude who only skill is scoring......:facepalm

[Ca$H]

why pick up a dude who only skill is scoring......:facepalm

:biggums: He is a very good rebounder, an above average passer, and an underrated defender too.

[swagga]

warriors will have to be crazy to not jump on this.

[DoctorP]

you replace role players with role players. watch them F it all up. plus Durant would be seen as weak for colluding.

[fragokota]

Curry
Thompson
Durant
Green
Ezeli

That's a core that guarantees Finals presence for the next 5 years at least. Crazy if they can pull this off.

[Crown&Coke]

Is Kawakami a name I should know? I never heard of him, yet he is mentioned in this title like Woj is.

If you are a fan of any Bay Area team you would know him, I doubt anyone outside of that circle know him

[3peated]

stacking stars would not benefit that team i dont think. they are so freaking good. durant would hurt what they have, not becuase hes cancerous or anything, but he's a star, he needs as many touches as steph, someone would obviously suffer if he went there, and i dont think he wants to win a champ like lebron did by buddying up, i think him and westbrook are good with OKC and wanna build that franchise up.

[SexSymbol]

why pick up a dude who only skill is scoring......:facepalm
he has the best handles for a sf since tmac, great rebounder, a very good passer and a very good defender.

[swagga]

i'm all for colluding and stacking the teams to the max, bring back the superteams, maybe this way we'll get some real bad blood going, end all this buddy buddy athmosphere :no:

[Truth]

**** Kevin Durant


We're gonna go 74-8


Myers is too smart to Break it up

Who gives a fyck let them get old this is the ship that got us here stop dreaming about super teams this ain't 2k

[HOoopCityJones]

I have a funny feeling GSW and their fans will regret this.

But it is interesting, do you let Dray, Klay and Curry develop together as they age like The Spurs did with Manu, Tim and Tony or do you seize an opportunity to lock in multiple All-star level players like Miami did a few years ago?

It's basically the prospect of a small window of dominance compared to sustained long term success.

The biggest question is imo, if you're Durant are you really in a rush to likely play second fiddle for the foreseeable future to the guy who dethroned you as one of the Top 2 best players in the entire league?

[ralph_i_el]

why pick up a dude who only skill is scoring......:facepalm
:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

"only skill is scoring"
He just does it as well as it's ever been done

Also, above average ball handler and passer for his position, elite shooter/floor spacer, excellent off-ball player, and near-elite defender.


Durant is just as valuable as Curry

[sd3035]

They should just dump Speights and Barbosa, Barnes can come off the bench

I like Barnes

[Bay Area Baller]

Warriors need more help. We are no where close to a perfect season.

[HOoopCityJones]

Warriors need more help. We are no where close to a perfect season.

It's insane right? :oldlol:


You would think the best Team in the league by far would be satisfied with how their Team looks. Teams on the bubble of being contenders like Miami, Chicago, Houston, Boston etc. should be the main suitors for Durant, but it's the best Team in the league with a chance to break the Bulls all time season record, as currently constructed.

The NBA gets more and more watered down every year because of shit like this.

[Inferno]

Damn, looks like this KD shit is getting serious :biggums:

[Ca$H]

Damn, looks like this KD shit is getting serious :biggums:

There are scenarios where the dubs can sign Durant and keep Barnes or Iggy too. I like the scenario where they can keep Iggy.

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2016/2/4/10920316/the-ideal-kevin-durant-scenario

[Town's Town]

If you are a fan of any Bay Area team you would know him, I doubt anyone outside of that circle know him
Gotcha. I'm not from the Bay area, so this makes sense.

[Town's Town]

stacking stars would not benefit that team i dont think. they are so freaking good. durant would hurt what they have, not becuase hes cancerous or anything, but he's a star, he needs as many touches as steph, someone would obviously suffer if he went there, and i dont think he wants to win a champ like lebron did by buddying up, i think him and westbrook are good with OKC and wanna build that franchise up.
I'm not so sure about that. ESPN and the general public were pretty quick to put LeBron top 3 all time because of those rings, regardless of how he got them.

[Inferno]

There are scenarios where the dubs can sign Durant and keep Barnes or Iggy too. I like the scenario where they can keep Iggy.

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2016/2/4/10920316/the-ideal-kevin-durant-scenario

Honestly, I'd be cool with letting one of Barnes/Iggy, or even both, go if it actually meant getting KD :biggums:

Especially if Barnes asks for too much...he isn't as valuable as he may think he is IMO :confusedshrug:

[Inferno]

If you are a fan of any Bay Area team you would know him, I doubt anyone outside of that circle know him

^^ Kawakami's legit

[Town's Town]

Honestly, I'd be cool with letting one of Barnes/Iggy, or even both, go if it actually meant getting KD :biggums:

Especially if Barnes asks for too much...he isn't as valuable as he may think he is IMO :confusedshrug:
Absolutely worth it. They are replaceable too if KD doesn't end up joining. Many people would love to fill that slot.

[Rocketswin2013]

so...this is a thing. if it happens there is very real chance GS takes the next 3 titles. There would be some adversity and drama, there always is, but they could really win 4 - 5 in a row with varying levels of ease.

part of me thinks something will go wrong, but on the offense side you are talking about two of the 5 or so most portable offensive players in NBA history.

Durant has made MVP type seasons while dominating in several fashions. This year, he's been a killer in the post and coming off and screens, his isolation game has regressed. probably because of playing with WB. In 2014, he posted Jordan-level ISO numbers and was an elite PNR ballhandler. Durant is going to fill in anywhere in an offense and give you 25< PPG on around 65 TS%. I think he is most dominant with the ball in his hands a lot, like in 2014 but it doesn't matter much.

Curry is maybe them most portable big-time scorer ever. It's difficult to see how this could be ruined. Thompson would be a glorified Patty mills-type after this, but who cares when a guy as efficient as Durant is taking his possessions.

[TheMarkMadsen]

If they win a title this year, then signing Durant would be really dumb.

This whole thing is really dumb, KD has seriously lost his mind if he goes to GS.