According to Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk , who passed along comments made by former NBA player Mychal Thompson, the father of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, on ESPN LA Now regarding the possibility of the Warriors pursuing Kevin Durant.
“I also heard it on good authority from a team that plays in the Bay Area that they’re going to go hard after Kevin Durant.”
This report notes a combination of David Lee’s contract being taken off of the books and an expected jump in salary cap, due to a new television deal, which potentially will leave room for the Golden State Warriors to pursue Durant in 2016. Currently, the Warriors could not pursue Durant, since they have such little room with the new contract given to Draymond Green, but they hope that the cap jumps enough to give them a chance at landing Durant.
It’s difficult to imagine a single starting five that includes Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson. This unprecedented amount of offensive firepower is enough to give opposing team’s nightmares when they see the Golden State Warriors on their schedule, regardless of who will be playing in the post.
There will be concerns in the long term about using so much cap room on just three players. But, as LeBron James’ squads have exhibited over the years, when you have a team that can win championships, it is easier to attract veteran talent to join the team on a reduced salary.
Last season, the Golden State Warriors went 67-15 in the regular season en route to an NBA championship with it’s current group. Think about what the team could accomplish if they were to add Kevin Durant , with the only major sacrifice to do so being the loss of David Lee. Lee only played 18 minutes per game last season. The ability to win championships will be a major selling point when it comes time to pitch to Durant.
If the other teams hoping to land Kevin Durant any other further incentive to, there it is. They have to stop the Golden State Warriors from becoming unstoppable.
Do you think the Golden State Warriors will make a transaction in order to acquire Kevin Durant during the 2016 offseason? If not, who do you think will land the former MVP forward? Finally, how good do you think the Golden State Warriors could be if they were to add Kevin Durant?
[Image by Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images]
