Kevin Durant's decision to sign with the Warriors is "great for the Warriors, great for Durant --- and potentially catastrophic for the NBA," according to Howard Beck of BLEACHER REPORT. NBA teams "sell either excellence or hope, but what hope is there to sell when one franchise can hoard four of the league's best players?" Everything in the NBA's systems "is designed to thwart this outcome," but the system "just collapsed before our eyes, the result of a perfect storm of anomalies." Durant joining the Warriors "runs counter to everything the league has worked to establish since creating the salary cap" in '84 (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 7/5). In Dallas, Rick Gosselin notes the salary cap and NBA Draft are "supposed to serve as a check-and-balance system for the NBA." The goal "is parity," but that "has not been achieved." More than any other league, the NBA has become an entity of "the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.'" Gosselin: "And the haves are getting richer" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/6). In Houston, Brian Smith notes the idea that Durant joining an already strong Warriors roster is "'good for the league' is as uninformed and misguided as it is naive." Small market teams "found the nearest underground bunker, waited for the world to stop ending, and made the friend nearest to you swear they'd wake you up as soon as the league's competitive-balance nightmare ended." But it "won't until the next labor war or a year-long lockout, whichever brings common sense and fairness back to a sport that is more defined than ever by the 1 percenters and have-nots" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/6).
INTEREST TO GET EVEN HIGHER? NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts said the interest that the Warriors are "going to generate this next season is going to be immense." The ratings are "going to be through the roof because people want to see if in fact this team is a team that will live up to all the hype, so that part is great for the game” ("The Dan Patrick Show," 7/5). In Oklahoma City, Berry Tramel writes Durant joining the Warriors is "actually great for the NBA." Durant and G Stephen Curry on the same team is a "marquee that half of America will love and half will abhor," and it will be a "regular Sunday afternoon attraction for ABC" (OKLAHOMAN, 7/6). The N.Y. Daily News’ Pat Leonard said, “It’s must-watch TV and it’s good for the NBA” (“Daily News Live,” SNY, 7/5). The San Jose Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami: “Superpower teams are good for ratings, for attention. Now every fan in different cities will want to be the team that beats the Warriors.” He added, “This is good for the storyline (for the NBA)” (“SportsNet Central,” CSN Bay Area, 7/5). In S.F., Bruce Jenkins notes neither former NBA Commissioner David Stern nor current Commissioner Adam Silver "would ever admit it, but the league thrives on top-heavy dominance." It is the "entire history of NBA popularity." Widespread parity "would crush national attention and television revenue" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/6).
IT'S ALL GOOD: Roberts said the record amount of money spent on free agency since Friday is "good news for the game, it’s good news for the players and I think it is fun and exciting for the fans.” Roberts: “I don’t see a downside from anyone’s vantage point. All this means is that the game is growing and making money and its popularity is through the roof, so there’s no downside. The downside would be if the game suddenly became less popular and there was no interest by any of the networks and people weren’t watching. This is all good news for players and owners” ("The Dan Patrick Show," 7/5).
