Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports brought forward a different take than most of the NBA and its Twitter pundits have endlessly discussed since the Golden State Warriors “broke the NBA” by acquiring Kevin Durant in 2016.
The argument caught fire once again when DeMarcus Cousins agreed to an outrageous one-year paycut, locking down a $5.3 million deal for the mid-level exception with the defending champions.
Lee offered that it isn't the Warriors that are breaking the NBA, but rather mediocre teams refusing to remain competitive with dumbfounding moves.
GSW isn't bad for the NBA. You know what is? SAC being in the lottery 12 years & trading away its lone all-star…ORL being rudderless since dealing Dwight…PHX stumbling over itself once Nash got old…BKN trading its future to BOS…CHA passionately hugging mediocrity…
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) July 4, 2018
NYK needlessly searching out a savior…MEM leaving behind grit&grind…Awful, non-competitive franchises are bad for the NBA. A dynasty generates interest, ignites passion. Dominance is good for business. Nobody – outside of process trusters in PHI – enjoys paying to watch lousy
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) July 4, 2018
The Warriors are competing under the same stipulations as any other team, they follow the same rules and guidelines under the same salary cap, with the same implications.
Their ownership, while not the richest, has been open about being willing to spend as much as it takes to get a winning product, willing to even triple what a player would cost by means of the luxury tax.
Golden State has drafted smartly, with three of their All-Stars being homegrown products — as well as made the necessary moves to free up the cap space to sign the likes of Durant.
Cousins choosing to sign with the Warriors is a byproduct of teams like the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers hesitating to pull the trigger on a deal, while Warriors GM Bob Myers closed the deal over the phone with no hesitation.
Teams like the Kings, Magic, Suns, Nets, and Knicks are constantly part of the NBA lottery, but have done little to find success, choosing instead to slowly grow into relevance, rather than pursue a way to put out a winning team through other methods.
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