Listen, I’m as sick of the non-stop Kevin Durant banter as all of you are. He’s holding the sports world hostage until he decides which team he’ll play for. These next few days are going to be full of overanalyzing the tiniest rumors. It’s high school all over again.
One thing is for sure: If Durant does choose the Golden State Warriors, it’ll spawn mass chaos. The Bay Area will drop to its knees and rejoice. The rest of country? They’ll rally hard against the Warriors. Durant’s arrival will be viewed by the masses as an evil super-team and every detail about the Warriors will be dissected like a dead frog. Players, coaches and executives around the NBA will root for Golden State’s demise. There will be drama up until the very last game, even if the team records 70-plus wins again.
When super teams are formed, it’s always the third star who is viewed as the scapegoat when things go wrong. Chris Bosh in Miami and Kevin Love in Cleveland were plugged into these unfavorable roles, a huge adjustment from all of the rebounding and scoring they originally built their names upon. Bosh and Love were hit from every angle with criticism and saw their statistics plummet. Both players essentially were forced to completely abandon their playing styles. These were turbulent times, and for Love, they are still ongoing.
Klay Thompson, who arguably had a better 2016 postseason than Durant, would be forced to slide into this third player role. Thompson is the furthest thing from an NBA diva — he’s actually one of the most laid back professional athletes you’ll ever meet. He’ll handle it with grace, and he’s even been openly recruiting Durant to become his teammate.
“He would make everyone better, obviously,” Thompson told Sirius XM radio.
Is it so obvious, though?
Here’s the problem: Thompson is a volume shooter, who has averaged at least 15 shots per game the last three seasons. Thompson needs shots to catch fire, and those looks could be cut in half with Durant in the fold. The Warriors likely will still run a pass-first offense, but they also won’t ignore Durant’s strength as an isolation shooter in the midrange.
Also remember this: In a do-or-die Game 6 in the Western Conference Finals, Thompson outclassed Durant, dropping 41 points and saving the Warriors’ season. Those days of Thompson carrying the scoring load might be completely done. It’s hard to imagine Durant deferring the basketball in critical moments down the stretch.
Here’s another problem: Steve Kerr still might give Thompson the green light to shoot, but like Bosh and other third stars before him, Klay then would receive a heavy portion of the blame if and when things go south. Because Thompson would be the best player on 10-12 other teams around the league, the expectation will be for him to dominate — especially when he’s getting more open looks and being guarded by lesser defenders. The Warrior will say they win and lose as a team. But that’s ignoring the reality of journalism and social media. Players hear everything.
The son of an NBA legend, Thompson seems like he’ll have a better mental handle on all of the pressure that would come his way if Durant does arrive. But it’s worth mentioning four of his worst games in the playoffs came in the NBA Finals against Cleveland, especially in Game 7, when pressure was at its absolute highest. Thompson went 2/10 from downtown and scored just 14 points.
I’m a proponent of the Warriors signing Durant if they can. How could you ever turn down a 6-foot-11 shooting guard, who has won an MVP and been to a championship? Golden State needs another killer on offense to topple LeBron.
But understand this: Rewiring this team’s chemistry is going to be a bumpy process. The Heat in 2011 and the Cavaliers in 2015 both lost in the championship in their first year as a super-team. You can say LeBron choked in 2011 and injuries impacted Cleveland in 2015. Whatever the case, aligning all these stars did not pan out in year one.
Thompson, and not the pass-first Draymond Green, will be at the forefront of the scrutiny. He might not realize it yet, but he would likely have to completely alter his game to make the Warriors a better team.