When the Golden State Warriors signed Kevin Durant as a free agent last summer, the basketball universe went up in flames.
Here was a four-time scoring champion and former league MVP joining a team that just broke the NBA record for most wins in a single season. There was only one way this season was going to end, and with Golden State one win shy of becoming the first team to go 16-0 in the playoffs, the outcome couldn’t be more dominant than one could have imagined.
Durant is now on pace to win Finals MVP while becoming the most efficient scorer in Finals history.
But LeBron James isn’t among those upset the Warriors were able to sign Durant during his free agency last summer. James has aspirations of becoming an NBA team owner in the future. Utilizing cap space to sign the best available talent is the name of the game, and he knows that.
“I mean, if you have the opportunity to do that, is it fair that the Cowboys added Deion Sanders?” James said during his media availability on Thursday. “I mean, listen it happens. It’s sports. If you have the opportunity to sign one of the best players, and you can do it? Go ahead and do it. Why not? If I become an owner, I’m gonna try and sign everybody.”
Life isn’t fair, especially when there’s a prize on the line. The grand prize in the NBA is a championship ring, and players will sacrifice everything possible to get one.
The Warriors were the primary beneficiary of the league’s new television rights deal, a one-time spike that bumped a $70 million salary cap in 2016 to $94 million in 2017. Durant smartly signed a two-year deal with an opt-out in Year 2, one he’ll exercise this summer in order to sign a long-term contract in Golden State.
The Warriors will then sign Stephen Curry to a max contract this summer, too, to lock in their core group for the foreseeable future. Durant’s reportedly willing to take less money to do so.
James has also done this before, though not as big of a free agent fish. He convinced Ray Allen to join the Heat after eliminating the Celtics in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. This is a brutal karmic twist that derailed his postseason at the worst possible moment.
You may disagree with Durant’s choice. Leaving the team that drafted you for the team that eliminated you is a tough pill to swallow for each party involved. But if you were an NBA owner and the best scorer (and rim protector) wanted to join your organization, you’d drop the money in a heartbeat.
So would LeBron.