Kevin Durant Leaves OKC- Joining Warriors

Rich said:

Eh, easy to make jokes instead of address the actual point.

They have no size.

That's not just a general statement like you normally hear when a team is rather small.

No, they either have a rookie start or their center/power forward combo is literally the smallest in the league.

They aren't your typical small. They are the smallest.

Now tell me how they fix the problem.

Listen, when Miami joined forces, I'd argue they were more talented, at the top, than this. LeBron was better than any of these players on Golden State. Wade, quite honestly, was better (at least the season prior), than any of the players Golden State has. At they very least, an argument should be had about it. His usage in '09-10 was otherworldly. Higher than Durant or Curry's has ever been. He was carrying that scrub ass team to 47 wins and was a far, far better defender than either Durant or Curry. Maybe regular season Curry is better than 09-10 Wade, but playoff Curry isn't.

And the Heat couldn't it. They couldn't put together a bench worth a damn that first year.

Understand that is going to be even harder for Golden State because of how much the salary cap has went up. Like Miami, they won't have the MLE this season. But next year, when they get it, it's an MLE that basically hasn't moved in 5 years. Right around 5.5 million dollars. Meanwhile, the cap has doubled since 2011. 5.5 million goes basically nowhere.

If they win titles, it's gonna be with those four dudes playing 38 minutes a night during the entire regular season and 40 minutes a night in the playoffs. That's what they'll have to do.

And honestly, 32 year old Iguodala is gonna have to be right behind them. 33-35 minutes a night.

This would be different if one of their four stars were an actual big man. But they not only have a depth problem, they have a big, giant hole at center problem that can't be easily covered by any of their star players. Miami could slide Bosh to the 5. LeBron could play some point. Wade could guard 1-3. Draymond Green, at 6'7, is their only hope at center, and he can't do it full time.

If instead they had just traded for, say, Anthony Davis instead of Durant...yea, it's a wrap. Even though their bench would have been ass, as long as those guys stayed healthy they wouldn't have been beatable. But they signed another perimeter shooter who doesn't bang down low. So now they need to figure out a way to sign a productive, competent big man or else try and be the first team to ever win a title without one.

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gourimoko said:

Yeah... Wade wanted to stay in Miami, and Miami just gave him every reason to do so.

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The Wizard of Moz said:

It's funny all the people saying Warriors will win 5 in a row, we have no shot, cancel the season etc are the same exact fucking ones who said we had no shot at beating them THIS year even before the series (don't even get me started on when we were down 3-1).

What an unbelievable coincidence

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Chris said:

You can say that all you want but you do realize just to beat them this year without KD required a freaking miracle right? The way you are acting all confident and shit it's almost like you think we swept them this year.

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tocov said:

So as I understand things, next season's GSW will be Curry, Klay, Iggy, KD, Green, Livingston, two rookies and a bunch of D-Leaguers playing for drinks?

I mean that's a great first 6, but can they pull 82 games with such a short and soft rotation and then through the playoffs?

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The Wizard of Moz said:

So I'm way behind on this thread, can someone let me know why Cuban is going out of his way to help the Warriors?

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tedginnjr said:

Why, because they offered him Kent Bazemore money?

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godfather said:

I wonder if there's any hope of a Gay trade. I know, I'm reaching...

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tedginnjr said:

All this stuff about KD being a beta...

It will take about 5 games to establish himself as the best player on the team... Much like LeBron in Miami...

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The Wizard of Moz said:

So I'm way behind on this thread, can someone let me know why Cuban is going out of his way to help the Warriors?

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Meticode said:

There's a good chance Barbosa and Speights get their rights renounced and resign for vet minimums. I don't think they'll lose everyone. GS will renounce and some will take less money.

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warddj86 said:

It all comes down to what Wade values more: winning or money.

Because if he stays in Miami, his best days are behind him. If he wants a fourth or possibly fifth ring, he'll start looking for houses in Bath or Westlake.

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