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When the news of a shouting match in the Warriors' locker room first appeared on Tuesday afternoon, it was reasonable to downplay the implications. This Golden State team is under the perpetual microscope and every crack of the foundation deserves to be discussed, but the reality is that most good teams fight and curse each other against each other during a season of 82 games.
In some cases, tedious exchanges after the match can be a sign of health. The alternative is a cloakroom filled with vague, passive and passive aggression clichés thrown between teammates as the entire ship sinks deeper into an ocean of permanent mediocrity. (I'm living in Washington DC.) Given Draymond's historic outbreak in Golden State and the success that has been recorded by their side, rule out any kind of long-term worry of the Warriors seemed like a smart game.
Then they suspended Draymond. This decision changed everything. Warriors' concerns are more legitimate now and questions about the future are inevitable. The suspension was the most serious disciplinary action of the Kerr era in the state of Golden. It cost Green a check for $ 120,000. This decision also ensured that, instead of a few parasitic reports disappearing in less than 24 hours, the scenario would become a story that would last for months. And if nothing else, embracing the inevitable circle of control that would entail a suspension shows how much the Warriors thought this matter had become serious.
Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In case anyone misses the last 36 hours of updates on this story, it all started in Los Angeles. At the end of a tied game in the regulation against the Clippers, Durant wanted the ball to have a chance to take the last shot. Draymond wanted him to take a break. Eventually, that turned into a turnover in the last few seconds and a heated argument in margin. Then Draymond returned to the locker room and took the subtext of this season of warriors: Durant would he leave? Will he be recruited all year? What does the team think of all this? – and makes text. According to a report, Green "would repeatedly call Kevin Durant to b *** ch" in a display that would have prompted a warrior to say, "With what has been said, it is already impossible for Durant to come back."
The suspension (and a handful of excellent NBA journalists) made it all public. So where are we? The best basketball team on the planet has just acknowledged a violent and unacceptable enmity between two of its best players, and the coaching staff and the front office have publicly sided with Kevin Durant. The players seem to be more mixed. Tuesday night, Durant said he and Draymond have not yet arranged things. Nobody knows where it's going, but that's part of the fun here.
Here are the five most likely results.
Scenario no. 1: Everyone advances and continues to win titles
This is the most likely result for the rest of the season, but it should not be neglected in the long run.
According to some accounts, the Warriors were already struggling with these tensions last season. This week's version may be worse, and certainly more public, but Golden State still has the most talent in the league. Given the difficulties in Boston, the gap between the Warriors and the rest of the league could be larger this season than it was a year ago. If Steph Curry is healthy in May and June, it would be foolish to bet against them.
Similarly, while it's easy to read this week's events and conclude that the Golden State management prefers to keep Durant on Draymond, it's also important to remember that Joe Lacob probably wants to do everything in his power. its power to keep both. To this end, if the Warriors win another title in June, it will be much harder to imagine a key player moving away from one of the most successful basketball teams in the sport. The changes are not inconceivable, but none of the upheavals of the Golden State will be as inevitable as some of this week's reports show. Always: For the sake of argumentation, suppose that the status quo is no longer at the table.
NADKARNI: Reading between the lines of the "Feud" of Durant-Draymond
Scenario no. 2: During the Knicks
This is surprisingly the second most likely scenario at stake. Durant Knicks, the buzz has been spreading around the league since June. In September, a league source told SI that the wheels for a move to New York were already in motion, in the same way that LeBron's movement in Los Angeles had (allegedly) been written well before July 2018. He There are many reasons to be skeptical about this. claim.
Notably, the Knicks have not signed any All-NBA superstar for 30 years, and any superstar should be very confident and reckless to entrust his talents to an organization led by James Dolan. Still, New York would offer considerable commercial potential for Durant, and after three years of hearing by claiming that he had not been challenged by the Warriors, no one could say that the Knicks were not a challenge.
In addition, Durant's director and business partner was would have consulted for Knicks coaching research. New York has finally taken a different direction, but the lines of communication seem to be open on this front. In any case, there is too much buzz to rule out this option.
Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Scenario no. 3: Trade Draymond
I had written about it in August, when I had predicted a crack between Durant and Draymond and wondered if Golden State could move to Green to show its long-term support to Durant. If KD is looking for a new story and a new challenge, breaking the Golden State's original core and trying to keep dominating anyway could give him exactly what he needs, while giving him a better chance of succeeding than he does. would find it nowhere else.
Draymond is getting older. After several years of excellence at the age of five, her body is already showing signs of decline. He is about to sign a new contract after next season and he will be eligible for extension this summer. The upcoming Draymond deal will be a difficult investment for everyone, but with the heavy luxury tax penalties facing Golden State, the decision will be even more complicated for the Warriors. It is possible that the persistent tension with KD will allow the Golden State management to do what is necessary for the front office to consider continuing its efforts. But of course, this decision only makes sense if Durant makes a long-term commitment. If KD goes, Golden State will do everything in its power to keep Draymond and continue to win titles.
Scenario no. 4: Durant at the Clippers
This is the elder brother's most successful Durant Knicks rumors. Lawnmowers also During a massive platform, all kinds of business opportunities, as well as his own team leading up to the playoffs, where he can prove that skeptics are wrong. The difference here is that the Clippers already have a dynamic collection of young talents, a front-office savvy and a homeowner who will spend all that it takes to win. In addition, this owner is not James Dolan. Do not count the Clippers. But meanwhile …
Scenario no. 5: Durant at the Lakers
Do not count the Lakers? It's really easy to dismiss any rumors about Durant Lakers, but maybe it's too easy. I know: if Durant leaves the Warriors because he wants to go somewhere that allows him to win on his own terms, why would he join LeBron James? It's a good question and I'm not here to write Lakers fan fiction. Really, I am not interested in arguing this one way or the other. This is the least plausible result on the board. But what is most important is objective recognition: for each scenario that may play for the future of Durant and Golden State, nothing is more entertaining than the prospect that KD will come to LA to team up with LeBron.
During this version of the timeline, Durant does not just leave the Warriors. He must go somewhere to be able to beat them immediately. And no, Durant would not have had the opportunity to anchor his own team in LA, but there is always a chance that he will be wired differently from any superstar that we never knew and that's the way he was supposed to remember.
IIn any case, KD would be adored by Lakers fans and if LA misses the playoffs this year (which is not impossible), Durant could still play the role of savior he would otherwise inherit in New York . In the meantime, this decision would revive Golden State's rivalry with LeBron, while Draymond would begin the next season with a 2,000-word announcement. GQ interview explaining his side of the Clippers locker room quarrel and explaining to the world that KD has never been a true warrior. In addition, Steph would have a chance to beat LeBron and Durant at the same time and claim to be the best player of this generation.
But who knows?
SHARP: Durant will stay with the warriors but Draymond will go
In the end, everyone guesses. There will probably be no real answer until next July.
If the question is how did we get here this week and who is responsible, blaming everything makes the Golden State situation so fascinating. Draymond almost certainly delivered the message at the wrong time and in the wrong way, but his basic arguments are reasonable. He and the other stars of the Warriors should not feel obliged to hand over to anyone. They did not help forge the biggest dynasty in the NBA in 25 years, but spent each season playing the role of pelicans with Anthony Davis.
Durant created these conditions by signing one – year contracts each season and refusing to cancel rumors about free agencies. Had Golden State coaches reacted to this uncertainty by showing favoritism in recent seasons, delicate criticism and KD 's leeway to do as he pleased, Draymond and his team – mates would have the right to be safe. to oppose these developments.
Durant's perspective also makes sense. He is amazing enough to define the conditions of any team he plays for, even this one. If Draymond wants Durant to appreciate what the Warriors were able to do without him, Durant would be wise to ask Draymond to recognize how much easier his life has become since. Golden State became unstoppable as soon as KD signed in July 2016, and Green spent long periods in the last two years throughout the regular season.
KD has given this team the biggest margin of error in the history of the NBA, and it still has not got the merit. This is not the fault of Golden State, but it is still a reality. Durant can not win even when he wins. If he was not sure he wanted to spend the rest of his career fighting this paradox, that would be understandable. He owes no one to engage in the long term.
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In the end, what is happening at Golden State this week is the byproduct of two players who think they are right. And they are both of them. As warrior fan Sam Esfandiari says highlightedThroughout the possession, the entire dichotomy was visible: Durant is good enough to demand a chance to end the tie, while Draymond and the Warriors are sufficiently successful to wait for KD to speak up. and fill a path like everyone else.
Soon, everyone on the warriors will start pretending that everything is fine. If gains and losses are the barometer, it will probably be. But this week 's drama was real, it was not a by – product of overzealous media, and some of that tension will linger all year long.
That brought back something that Ron Adams, Assistant Warriors, said in the NBA Finals last June. He was talking about Draymond's training. "You adhere to the originality of these players," he told reporters. "Every one of our guys is talented, but they are different, Steph is sometimes a magician, then he makes you cry with a few twists, and that's partly what he's in. We try to minimize what's does not help you for the team, with any player, but these guys, we train them, we lead them, but it's the people [in charge]. Players become much more involved. They have more say in the team. Steve [Kerr] did a remarkable job, a unique job, empowering this team. "
This is the central problem. The stars on the warriors have always been those who shape the Golden State culture. Now the agendas are starting to conflict. How much will it matter? How are you going to finish? We will all discover together.
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