The Golden State Warriors have received some major backlash after winning two championships in their two years since the acquisition of Kevin Durant. While commissioner Adam Silver has put rules in place to entice players to stay with their original teams, he warns this franchise would have found a way to get Durant whether their situation was cap friendly or not.
“I get it in terms of Kevin Durant going [to the Warriors in 2016]. It was a bit of an aberration in our system; we had a spike in our cap, it enabled them to have additional cap room. The Warriors will tell you they would have figured out a way to get it done anyway,” said Silver as a guest of ESPN's Golic and Wingo Show.
Silver also noted that fans often fixate on the Durant acquisition and its nature, overlooking the pieces already in place, which made it such an attractive destination.
“I’ve said repeatedly, let’s also celebrate excellence,” said Adam Silver. “Ownership, the job Bob Myers has done as a GM, Steve Kerr, of course, one of the great coaches in our league. Steph Curry, drafted; Klay Thompson, drafted; Draymond Green drafted 35th by Golden State Warriors.”
Silver said the NBA doesn’t “want to go about breaking up teams just to break them up, just to force some sort of parity that is kind of unnatural,” but offered willingness to improve the system, if the players felt like it needed fixing.
Player movement is at an all-time high, and largely a reason why the NBA is still massively relevant in the offseason, as fans have been glued to their seats thinking about potential destinations for the likes of LeBron James, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard.
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