© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
On a surface level, things are humming along just as the Warriors planned. They’ve won 12 of their last 13 games. DeMarcus Cousins has successfully integrated and created an offensive dynamic we haven’t yet seen from one of the NBA’s all-time greatest teams. The Warriors are primed to three-peat.
Behind the curtain, however, there’s been a dizzying amount of hoopla and speculation surrounding two of the team’s stars, leading to the same thought: how much longer is this dynasty going to remain?
It’s a question that has hovered over the Warriors since Kevin Durant chose not to sign a long-term deal last July, instead signing on for one more year with an option. It’s a question that has remained since Klay Thompson reportedly turned down a three-year extension last summer, instead holding out for a max contract when he hits free agency after the current season. And Cousins, the team’s prized offseason addition, was always viewed as a one-year rental.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported if the Lakers sign Anthony Davis, and the Warriors don’t offer a max deal to Thompson, he would consider joining the Lakers. Numerous reports have pointed to Durant’s interest in joining the New York Knicks, which just opened tons of cap space in a blockbuster trade last week, though he has alluded to staying with the Warriors long-term.
Joe Lacob is tasked with prolonging this dynasty as long as possible. And if that requires the Warriors owner to spend and spend some more, so be it.
“I think we’ll continue to have a good team if not a great team and try to hopefully be a title-contending team for as long as we can,” Lacob recently told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. “We’ll be aggressive. Nobody’s going to outspend us. Nobody’s going to outwork us.”
The current team has remained because its players have taken pay cuts. Draymond Green took a discounted five-year, $82 million deal in 2015 to make room for Durant’s max contract. Last year, Durant took a $10 million pay cut to make room for Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Thompson has held out for a massive deal as long as possible.
At some point, each of the Warriors stars wants to earn what he believes he’s worth. Stephen Curry has already done so — he signed the league’s first $200 million-plus contract after the 2017 season. Both Thompson and Durant are in line to sign max deals after the current season concludes. Green, who is likely in line for close to a max contract, will be a free agent after the 2019-2020 season.
The question is whether keeping Thompson and Durant after the current season is attainable. Retaining the current core would cost Lacob around $300 million per year in salary with luxury-tax costs for the next several years, Kawakami estimates.
Lacob doesn’t seem too worried.
“We can do whatever we want (financially),” Lacob told Kawakami. “And you should expect that that’s not going to be a reason this team … doesn’t stay great going forward. We have the capital to pay our players what they deserve. And we will.
“That’s not really the issue. The issue is more about people have to want to play here and it’s on us to make it a great environment.”
Kawakami noted “this is a slight change in tone from Lacob from recent years,” pointing out that he has previously acknowledged his limited resources and how that affects retaining Golden State’s stars. But he’s moving forward with a simple mission: make Golden State the most attractive place to play, and pay the franchise cornerstones what they deserve.
“The best thing for us to do is keep our great players together as long as we can, as long as we should, and then develop on the margins players in (G League) Santa Cruz that can help and be smart about the guys we do sign to add to the roster,” Lacob told Kawakami. “And maybe we’ll get lucky and get a DeMarcus Cousins again next year, somebody who wants to come here for less. We’re open to doing that and keeping the roster moving forward.”