So much for winning curing everything:
Where does that leave the Warriors? Not in a good space,
one veteran told Marcus Thompson II in a must-read piece at The Athletic.
“With what was said, there is already no way Durant is coming back,” one player said. “The only hope is that they can say this summer, ‘See, KD. We’ve got your back. We protected you from Draymond.’ ”
Hence the suspension, rather than just a fine for Green. The Warriors wanted the punishment to be public, not just internal. Just to show Durant they have his back.
It’s very likely not enough — and it very likely would not have mattered anyway.
Whatever you may think Durant is saying on the court, the stage has already been set for next July. It feels like Durant wants to win one more title, then to go try to pad his legacy with his “own team” somewhere else.
So, KD is going to opt out and seek his "own team" he can lead to a title.
First question, will this just be the first domino to fall? Green has another season left on his contract, but his teammates seem to be in Camp Kevin. Draymond seems to have put himself on an island. If KD leaves, will Klay also head elsewhere next summer? If Durant leaves, will they still be able to attract ring chasing vets on min contracts, or will those vets now flock to LAL (gag) to join Team LeBron instead?
Second question, if Durant wanted to come to POR, would you welcome him? He'd certainly be an upgrade at SF and can play the stretch 4 in small ball lineups with Collins at the 5 (would it even be considered "small ball" with two 7-footers on the floor?). If POR doesn't go deep in the playoffs this season, Durant can play night in shining armor in POR, rather than the coattail rider he's been in GSW.
BNM
