Thompson, a member of the past three Warriors title teams, will likely get an extension this summerNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Warriors co-Owner Joe Lacob "doesn't seem satiated" after the team's third NBA championship in four years, which provides perhaps the biggest "worry for the rest of the league" heading into the offseason, according to Marc Stein of the N.Y. TIMES. Lacob is "intent on signing" coach Steve Kerr, who "has one season left on his deal with the team, to a contract extension as soon as possible." He also indicated that contract extensions will be "likewise forthcoming" for G Klay Thompson and Fs Kevin Durant and Draymond Green (N.Y. TIMES, 6/11). Former Cavaliers GM and NBA TV analyst David Griffin said Warriors GM Bob Myers "should get a lot of this credit" for the team's title run. What he, along with Kerr and G Stephen Curry, "embody is a very large reason why we are talking about a dynasty here." Griffin: "They allow for the greatness of other people to grow and flourish.” But Myers said, "I don’t play. I just help them try to get a team that can win. So, that’s for them. The joy I get is that I will go home tomorrow, and somebody on the street will honk their horn and they will say, ‘Thank you.’ And I don't know who they are, but I will say, ‘You’re welcome'" (“NBA GameTime,” NBA TV, 6/9).
A DYNASTY IS BORN: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Ben Cohen wrote the Warriors' most recent title elevates them "into the stratosphere of teams good enough for long enough to define the eras in which they played" (WSJ.com, 6/9). THE ATHLETIC's Anthony Slater wrote one title is a breakthrough" and two is a "separator." Slater: "A third in short time welcomes you into a new level of the NBA pantheon, the demarcation point between impactful blip to dynasty" (THEATHLETIC.com, 6/9). In San Jose, Dieter Kurtenbach wrote this title "firmly placed" the Warriors amid the "greatest teams in Bay Area and NBA history" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 6/9).
WINNING TIME: On Long Island, Greg Logan wrote the naysayers "can complain about Durant's move from Oklahoma City to Golden State two years ago tipping competitive balance in the league, but the Warriors' ascendance to the status of a dynasty was far from assured" (NEWSDAY, 6/10). In Houston, Jenny Dial Creech wrote everyone "knew it was coming," so instead of excitement in the NBA Finals, there was a "large dose of the inevitability." Dynasties "aren't a bad thing," but right now in the NBA, there is a need for a "super team to compete" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/10). In DC, Jerry Brewer wrote the game of basketball "will ultimately be better for the Warriors elevating the standard." But the NBA "doesn't need another Golden State sweep or gentleman's sweep in the Finals next year" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 6/9). In Colorado Springs, David Ramsey wrote the NBA used to offer "more possibility, and fun." Players "absolutely have the right to keep joining up to form superteams." But fans "absolutely have the right to watch something else" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 6/10).
