Warriors need a center, not Kevin Durant
By Paul Matli
The Golden State Warriors are caught in the Kevin Durant frenzy. A frenzy that almost every team would be involved in. Who wouldn’t want a top- three player in the NBA on their team?
The Warriors are like every other team; they want Durant. But the question is do they need Durant? This question sounds crazy on the surface, but upon further examination it makes perfect sense. Here are the reasons.
First, the Warriors lost the NBA Finals because Andrew Bogut got injured. Yes, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson building a new arena with all their bricks was a factor, Harrison Barnes disappearing in games 5-7 was a factor and Festus Ezeli being a walking disaster also coincided with the Warriors completing the biggest chokejob in NBA history.
The NBA Finals weren’t lost because Durant wasn’t on the team. The Finals were lost because the Warriors have only one reliable Center. Draymond Green can play center on occasion, but he can’t play it for 40 minutes a night throughout the course of an 82 game season plus playoffs. The lack of multiple big men exposed the Warriors. The Oklahoma City Thunder started it and the Cleveland Cavaliers finished the job.
The Warriors should think long and hard about signing Hassan Whiteside, Al Horford or Joakim Noah. Heck, the Warriors should inquire about any seven- footer who can play. The Warriors should forget about Durant and focus on the interior, this is where the team is weak.
Whiteside, Horford and Noah (if he’s healthy) will make the Warriors unbeatable again. Steve Kerr could start them and have Bogut as his backup. Keep in mind Kevon Looney and draftee Damian Jones are no sure things to contribute next season. This makes having multiple big men imparative.
Signing an elite big man would allow the Warriors to keep their team intact, which would not be the case with Durant.
Durant would cause the Warriors to lose everyone on their bench except Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. It’s possible Leandro Barbosa or Marreese Speights would return to the Warriors for the mid-level exception, but signing Durant would mean the Warriors lose the motto “Strength in Numbers”.
There’s also more than a 50 percent chance the Warriors choose to get rid of Livingston and his $5 million salary in order to make room for other players.
The Warriors starting lineup would be Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Durant and Green. That’s a small lineup with no true big man. The bench would consist of Livingston (maybe ?), McCaw and Jones. The Warriors will add players to fill out their roster with the remaining cap space, but the question is who?
The Warriors would essentially be relying on five players to get them an NBA Championship. This a big risk.
Also, Durant would have to figure out how to gel with Curry and Thompson. Even though both guys laid huge eggs in the NBA Finals, it’s still their team. Durant doesn’t fit the Warriors style of play which would make incorporating him even more difficult.
This article is not nitpicking Durant, he’s a once in a generation talent, however he should not be the Warriors top priority.
A big man who can run the floor, block shots, rebound and score in the post is the Warriors biggest need. Durant would give them more scoring, but nothing else. He’s equal to Barnes defensively and Barnes fits the Warriors system because he doesn’t need the ball in hands to be affective.
Another question to answer is how will the shot situation work? Curry averaged 20 shots a game last season, Thompson was at 17 and Green was at 10. If the Warriors signed Durant he would need to shoot at least 20 times. So by that math Curry and Durant would shoot 20 times each, while Thompson and Green might be lucky to get 15 shots.
The Warriors averaged 86.9 shots per game last season. If Durant and Curry are taking 20 apiece this leaves about 47 shots for the other rotation players.
Signing Durant would make the Warriors the Oklahoma City Thunder except smaller and with less depth. Signing a big man would mean the Warriors can match up inside against the likes of Oklahoma City and Cleveland.
Do the right thing Myers and West because if you don’t the Warriors might have to settle for just one championship.