Superstar basketballer Kevin Durant, formerly of the Oklahoma City
Thunder, recently signed as a free agent with one of that team’s biggest rivals
the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors won a record 73 out of 82 NBA regular
season games last season. Despite the Warriors’ historical greatness Durant’s
Thunder almost knocked them out of the playoffs, holding a 3-1 lead in their
series before the Warriors won the last three games. But with Durant on the
team the Warriors are now heavy favourites to win next year’s title.
The NBA has a salary cap which is intended to make the league more
competitive. So how did the Warriors, with all their talent, manage to add one
of the best players in the NBA? Similarly how did the Miami Heat add superstars
LeBron James and Chris Bosh back in 2010? Some NBA observers, including sports
economist Dave Berri [The Atlantic] argue that the
formation of ‘superteams’ is an unintended consequence of the ‘max contract’
that puts a limit on how much NBA players can earn. As a result superstars like
Durant cost as much as mid-rung players like Harrison Barnes, who Durant is
effectively replacing on the Warriors. Also, with a limit on monetary
incentives in choosing teams, players may be basing their choices more on their
chances of championship glory instead.
The Warriors have been the darlings of the NBA over the past couple
of seasons with their dominance and attractive playing style, built on the
amazing long-range shooting of Stephen Curry. No longer, some have said: the
Warriors are now the Evil Empire [The Undefeated]. James, Bosh,
and Dwyane Wade famously faced a hostile reception in their first season as
teammates on the Miami Heat. Some reckon that the Warriors can expect the same
once Durant suits up.
Golden State could offer Durant superstar teammates, and a Bay Area
address in which to pursue his off-court interests. The main thing that OKC
could offer was Kevin Durant, and perhaps that was the problem [The Ringer]. The Thunder now
face some tough decisions, including what to do with their remaining superstar
Russell Westbrook.
Speaking of Westbrook, you can take the challenge of, on a limited
budget, trying to build a superteam to take on the Warriors [The Ringer]. Based on their
categories I would take Russ, Kawhi Leonard, Steven Adams, DeAndre Jordan, and
Avery Bradley.
But all is not lost.
Even with Durant it is unlikely that the Warriors will win 73 games again,
something that had never been achieved before [Fivethirtyeight]. There are
diminishing returns in what Durant can add to the Warriors, and teams tend to
revert back to the mean after highly successful seasons. And as the Warriors
learned this year favourable odds in the playoffs are not a guarantee. Still
other teams are going to need a lot of luck to beat this line-up.
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