This off season could be a pivotal one for the 2 Time Defending Champion Golden State Warriors. Pending free agency for both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson is looming. Klay Thompson has made it clear that he wants a max contract. The question is can the Warriors afford to pay both of them the maximum?
Moving Across the Bay
The Warriors new arena arena is scheduled to open next season. As they move into that new arena they will need to have a championship caliber team. DubNation has become accustomed to winning. The ticket prices will be exorbitant. And no one wants to outrageous prices to see a mediocre team. Unless you are a New York Knicks fan.
NBA is no longer Fan-Tastic
The NBA is now a corporate / global game. The rule changes and how the game is played today are designed to appeal to a global fan base. They cater to the corporations as opposed to the everyday regular fan. The Warriors are the preeminent team of the league. The are the poster child for the globalization of the game. The Warriors are the model for the new style of play. Because it is now a corporate game, the Warriors will more than likely price a certain segment of their fan base out of attendance. But we can discuss this further in another post.
Who to Keep?
In order to keep both Durant and Thompson, the Warriors will have to exceed the tax threshold. The owners have no desire to do that; especially for Klay Thompson . As great as Klay is, I don’t believe that he is a max player. He certainly is not worth keeping if it will place you over the threshold.
Thompson is an All Star, but he is not on KD’s level. Klay is too inconsistent offensively to count on night in and night out. KD is a scoring machine. If Klay is struggling offensively he tends to disappear. KD can have an off night shooting and still put up 20+.
Klay is a lockdown defender. But he only defends two-guards and some small forwards. KD can guard 1-5. Also KD can give you rebounds and assists. Klay, not so much.
Lastly, KD is clutch. His time in Golden State has proven that. In the NBA finals, he was an absolute killer. Also notice that Durant was guarding Lebron. Lebron was not guarding KD.
Who gives the best opportunity to compete for titles?
Who do you keep; The Splash Brother or the Other Brother?
**********Breaking News******
As most NBA fans know, KD may be considering a move to play for the New York Knicks next season.
Apparently Durant has been searching for homes in the New Jersey area. What is being rumored is that the area he is looking in is the Franklin area. This is the same process he undertook when he was considering leaving OKC. This does not mean that Durant will definitely be leaving Golden State. Nor does it mean that he will be playing for the Knicks. But it increases the odds.