Yardbarker
x
Kevin Durant to the Warriors makes little sense
Kevin Durant's impending free agency has teams salivating for his services. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Kevin Durant to the Warriors makes little sense

When is it ever a good idea to fix what has been an outstanding thing? For the Golden State Warriors, that question might very well be answered this upcoming summer.

Reports surfaced in early February that the defending champs are serious contenders to land former NBA MVP Kevin Durant should he flee Oklahoma City as a free agent this summer.

On the surface, this seems absolutely absurd. Golden State arguably has three of the top 15 players in the Association in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Warriors have won over 84 percent of their games since Steve Kerr took over as the team's head coach last season. They're also clear front-runners to earn a second consecutive NBA title.

Building a dream team of sorts may in fact sound like a great idea. After all, adding Durant to the mix would make Golden State instant title contenders for the better part of the next decade. But isn't that already the case?

You don't dominate the Association in the way Golden State has for the past year and a half without being considered serious contenders over the distant future.

Going away from the grain (and potentially common logic), here are the reasons why Durant to the Warriors makes little sense.

One basketball

Stephen Curry is already considered the greatest shooter of all time by many. This season alone, the reigning NBA MVP boasts a .631 effective field goal shooting percentage. Overall, he's hitting on nearly 51 percent of his shots while converting on 45 percent of his three-pointers.

To put Curry's shooting ability into perspective, he now boasts four of the top 10 three-point shooting seasons in NBA history. That's absolutely insane.

Not to be outdone, Klay Thompson is shooting at a 48 percent clip, including 43 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

With one basketball on the court, is there anyone reading this article who would rather have Durant shooting the ball than these two Splash Brothers?

While he's one of the top five all-around players in the NBA, Durant is shooting at a lesser clip from three-point range than current Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes.

We can point to Durant shooting at a 50-plus percent clip in each of his past four seasons and come to the conclusion that he would fit in well in Golden State. The transition here for him would be to take less threes and act as another scorer from inside the wing.

We can also draw a reasonable conclusion that Durant's presence on the Warriors would mean more open shots for both Curry and Thompson. Considering Golden State's spacing is already tremendous without Durant in the mix, that would be taken to an entirely new level.

We still have to go back to a relatively basic premise when drawing an ultimate conclusion. Taking out of the equation late-game scenarios, would you rather have Durant shooting the ball than Curry and Thompson? If the answer to this question is a yes, you likely won't agree with the point of this article.

Will Durant want to take on a secondary role?

No matter how good Russell Westbrook is for Oklahoma City, he's not that team's No. 1 option. In reality, he's as much a table setter as anything else.

How would Durant fit into a Warriors team that possesses an obvious shoot-first point guard? Would he be willing to take on a secondary role? The 27-year-old former MVP is averaging 19 shot attempts throughout his career. To put that into perspective, Curry himself is averaging less than 17 since he joined the NBA.

It's also important to note that Durant has put up an average of five-plus assists just once in his career. Meanwhile, Curry has gone with an obvious shoot-first mentality in recent seasons. His assist average is down from 8.5 in 2013-14 to 6.5 this season.

Golden State's offense succeeds on ball movement. And while having Durant on the team wouldn't necessarily hinder that in the grand scheme of things, it would make the Warriors' top three players of the shoot-first ilk.

In order for this to work, Durant would have to take an obvious secondary role to Curry. From that point, he and Thompson would be vying to be that secondary option. We have absolutely no idea how either would handle that scenario.

That's the question here. Not only would we be left wondering if Durant is OK with taking on a secondary role, but what about Thompson? He doesn't mind taking a back seat to Curry, but being a third wheel on a championship team might be an issue. 

Warriors won't mold their scheme to fit Durant

We can automatically assume Durant would fit in to the Warriors' current scheme. Considering his all-world ability, that might be a safe judgment.

However, is this something Durant himself would want? He pretty much has the pick of the litter in Oklahoma City, at least when it comes to what he does on the offensive end of the court.

This isn't really the issue, nor is it a knock on Durant. There are other potential problems at hand.

If Durant was to go to a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, that franchise would do everything possible to mold its scheme around Durant. The same can be said for the Houston Rockets, New York Knicks and any other potential suitor.

This won't be the case in Golden State. It has a system in place that has the squad winning 85 percent of its games since Steve Kerr took over as head coach last season — a squad that could very well shatter the Chicago Bulls' record for wins in a single season.

It would be utterly foolish for the Warriors to go away from what has been working. And in reality, that fits into the whole "one basketball" point referenced earlier.

For every Chris Bosh who fits perfectly into a scheme, there's an Antoine Walker who struggles with an identity after moving on from his original team. It's a mighty high risk for a team like the Warriors to take.

Breaking up a young core

Any potential Durant acquisition would likely mean the end of Harrison Barnes' tenure in Golden State. That in and of itself is more than a fair trade for the defending champs. Durant is obviously the better all-around player, a level Barnes is highly unlikely to ever reach in his career.

Though, a move for Durant would likely lead to the departure of young center Festus Ezeli, who is considered the future of that position with Andrew Bogut getting up there in age.

Ezeli, a first-round pick in 2012, has improved each and every season he's been in the NBA. He's averaging 7.5 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 56 percent from the field.

Considering Bogut would have to be traded in order to make room for Durant, the importance of keeping Ezeli around would be huge. Unfortunately, he's set to become a restricted free agent this season and will likely receive a rather large contract offer on the open market.

Outside of that, it's also highly likely the Warriors would have to part with 2015 first-round pick Kevon Looney, whom the team is extremely high on right now. A wing player, Looney is considered the potential heir apparent should Golden State lose Barnes to free agency. 

Losing veteran talent

Not only would Bogut have to be dealt if the Warriors were able to bring in Durant, but 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala would be on the outs. The two are set to count $24 million against the cap in 2016-17 — a number that would represent about $1 million less than what Durant's max deal would cost annually.

Golden State's top lineup is the small ball one it goes to when it needs to make a push. This includes playing Iggy at the four with Harrison Barnes taking over at the three. Is this a lineup Golden State could implement with the same success without those two in the mix? Can Durant play the four at times? That's a major question that would have to be answered.

Just as important, Warriors players are among the tightest in the NBA. Any major overhaul on the roster would have to be taken into account when it comes to team chemistry.

And while winning is everything, the bond they have built over the past couple seasons can't be taken lightly. How would the team respond to a mass exodus of important players to bring in yet another star on to a team that already has three?

Depth

With Barnes, Ezeli, Iguodala and Bogut all out of the mix after a hypothetical Durant acquisition, Golden State's depth would already be tested.

Now take into account the fact that the Warriors' top four contracts would then count $70 million against the cap, and it's reasonable to believe the likes of Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa might be jettisoned in favor of veteran minimum deals.

We saw how depth was an issue for LeBron James and the Miami Heat during his run with the team. We've also seen it play a role with James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in recent years.

One of Golden State's biggest strengths is that it can throw out a second-team lineup that could start for some squads out there. Take that away, and one huge advantage is thrown out the window.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.