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Not since the days of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1990s has there been a team that denies the rest of the league the championship before a season even started – until this version of the Golden State Warriors came along.
The Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were quite the force nobody could also stop during their day, but the pathetic form of Eastern Conference teams had a big part in making them look even more invincible. The East remains relatively weak to this day, but it’s not like the Warriors have been steamrolling past teams with Todd McCollough and Matt Geiger patrolling the paint and offering themselves as sacrificial lambs.
The Warriors have made a habit of destroying modified teams led by this generation’s best player in the Finals. And that’s thanks in large part to a canny front office that has the rest of the league beaten by a mile when it comes to finding value in the draft and a great coaching staff that has installed just the right system to maximize the talent of the team’s pieces.
Winning a title despite having Nick Young and JaVale McGee in the fold does not happen by coincidence – although it greatly helps if their opponents in the NBA Finals have J.R. Smith.
This offseason, the Warriors are once again hoping that Bob Myers and company will pull the right strings. They seemed to have made one sound decision already by selecting Jacob Evans late in the 2018 NBA Draft last week. They will have to make at least a few more in order to sustain their momentum in their quest to win a rare three-peat.
The search for more success is what drives the Warriors these days. There’s no way for them to go but up despite their heads already hitting the stratosphere. However, there’s something beyond that layer that they have yet to chart, and if they plan to be one of the few franchises in NBA history to win NBA titles three years in a row, here are some on top of their to-do list this offseason.
Show Kevin Durant the money treasure chest
Back in Game 3 of this year’s NBA Finals, with the Warriors up in the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers two games to none, Kevin Durant dropped arguably his best game in Golden State uniform. Durant finished with 43 points with every one of his baskets a meaningful one.
With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson seemingly out of rhythm, combining for just 21 points on 7-of-27 shooting from the floor, Durant had to put on his superhero cape to rescue the Warriors from what could have been a momentum-shifting, series-changing win for Cleveland. It was also in this game in which Durant hit the now famous 3-point dagger that must have also left the Warriors’ front office thinking “We need to give this man whatever he wants in the offseason.”
For as capable the Warriors are of winning a chip without Durant, it’s games and moments like that which show why they are paying the superstar forward top dollar.
Keeping Durant in the Bay Area is a must for Golden State. The Warriors do not need a professional presentation to urge Durant to stay, though. It’s long been assumed that Durant will remain a Warrior even if he declines his player option for the 2018-19 season, as he’s expected to work out a new and more lucrative deal with the team after proving why he is the most important player on the world’s best ball club.
Per Marc Stein of The New York Times:
Just to clarify on Kevin Durant: Friday's deadline compels Durant to opt IN on his $26.3 million for next season if he chooses, but league sources say he has already informed the Warriors that he will let the deadline pass quietly so he can become a free agent July 1
The only thing that’s left to be decided is for how long Durant’s next contract will run. Durant can opt to sign a four-year deal worth $158.3 million. He can also choose to ink a shorter three-year commitment that comes with a player option amounting to $114.5 million in total.
The last option would be the shortest one, which is a two-year deal with (along with a player option) so that he can fulfill the required full Bird rights to qualify for a five-year deal that kicks off with a 35 percent increase.
After taking discounts in the past to let Golden State sign crucial pieces like Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, Durant is out to get his worth financially, which means the Warriors practically will hand the versatile forward a blank check. It’s all up to Durant.
Per Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (via NBA.com)
“Sometimes you don't negotiate. I'd love to have him for 10 years. Kevin Durant, look what he did for us last year, he did us a great service,” Myers said. “He's earned the right to sign whatever deal he wants. I just want him to sign a deal. But want him to be happy and want him to know that we want him as long as he wants to be here. He's earned that, to kind of lay out the terms. He can do whatever he wants. That shouldn't be a long negotiation. Our goal, to be honest, is to try to keep the whole thing together, so that's the pieces of the puzzle we've got to try to figure out.”
Having Durant run the floor with Curry and Thompson makes the Warriors invulnerable to cold spells. It’s almost impossible that all three players will get cold on offense in the same game. In that way, the Warriors’ offense operates like someone who walks around carrying three heavy-duty power banks to ensure that his phone will never run out of power.
Boost the bench
Among all Warriors reserves who were with the team since Day 1, Young had the best scoring average with a production of 7.3 points per game. When a 33-year-old Nick Young was team’s best scorer off the bench, then that’s clearly an impetus for that club to at least entertain the idea of making changes in the second unit. For the record, the Warriors were only 22nd in the league last season with just 33.0 bench points per contest.
Young will hit the free agent market unrestricted, the same goes for Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, and David West. Kevon Looney has not yet received a qualifying offer from the Warriors as of this writing, and he’s also due to hit the market as a restricted free agent. That said, given the Warriors’ financial commitments to their stars, there’s a likelihood that the team won’t be able to match any offer the former UCLA Bruin will get from other teams.
Not all of those names are going to suit up for the Warriors even if the team wants to, mostly for the sake of chemistry. Should the Warriors lose McGee, West, and Pachulia, they need to find frontcourt muscle somewhere else. West and Pachulia could provide that, but they slow down the Warriors’ offense whenever they’re on the floor.
McGee is younger, more mobile, and when used properly, could do damage on both ends of the floor in an efficient manner, so of the three aforementioned biggies, McGee seems to be the safest bet to be part of the team beyond this offseason.
The Warriors have started to check one of the boxes pertinent to their mission of fortifying their second unit by giving backup guard Patrick McCaw a $1.641 million qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent once the free agency frenzy starts.
Find value in the free-agent market
The free-agent market is for everybody to shop in – even if you’re the Warriors, who does not seem to be thirsty of talent given the collection of All-Stars on their roster. Nick Young, who earned over $5 million last season can be replaced easily by cap-friendly free agents who could bring more to the table than just instant offense. Marco Belinelli, Gerald Green, and Mike Scott could be cheap but worthy options for Golden State to consider adding to its fold.
If the Warriors have some more money to spend, why not try their luck on JJ Redick and Wayne Ellington, whose shooting and experience will help widen the gap between them and other title contenders.
Other names the Warriors could consider are floor-spacing bigs like Ersan Ilyasova, Dante Cunningham, and Luc Mbah a Moute.
