If you want to know how significant Golden State landing Kevin Durant is, look no further than the San Antonio Spurs.
Hours after Durant announced he was joining the Warriors, The Vertical reported Tim Duncan is leaning strongly towards retiring.
Duncan is a 19-year veteran with nothing left to prove, but even he gets the sense the Spurs are going to be out of luck if and when they run into the Warriors in the playoffs. His franchise failed in their efforts to lure Durant back to Texas.
San Antonio is reportedly in heavy pursuit of Pau Gasol. But will a 35-year-old center really be enough ammo for the Spurs to topple the Warriors? Only time will tell, but the odds are stacked against the rest of the NBA.
From the Spurs perspective, at least the Thunder won’t be as big of a problem in the Western Conference. There are already rumors forming Oklahoma City could trade Russell Westbrook later this season, if they get the feeling he won’t sign a contract extension.
Still, with LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard and coach Gregg Popovich, San Antonio is the prohibitive favorite to meet Golden State in the 2017 Western Conference Finals.
But if they do lose Duncan, it’ll be a metaphor for how unbeatable the Warriors are now with Durant in the fold.