The Warriors -- featuring Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson -- are favored over the field to win the 2017 NBA title.
The Cavaliers -- with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love -- are favored over the field to win the Eastern Conference in 2017.
Is that a problem?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, via ASAP Sports:I’ll say, and I’ve read several stories suggesting that that’s something that the league wants, this notion of two super teams, that it’s a huge television attraction. I don’t think it’s good for the league, just to be really clear. I will say whoever is the prohibitive favorite, try telling that to the 430 other players who aren’t on those two teams. I mean, we have the greatest collection of basketball players in the world in our league, and so I’m not making any predictions, but there’s no question, when you aggregate a group of great players, they have a better chance of winning than many other teams. On the other hand, there are lots of things that have to happen.
We’ll see what happens in Golden State. You had a great, great chemistry among a group of players and you’re adding another superstar to the mix, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. But just to be absolutely clear, I do not think that’s ideal from a league standpoint.
I mean, for me as I discussed earlier, part of it is designing a collective bargaining agreement that encourages the distribution of great players throughout the league.
On the other hand, I absolutely respect a player’s right to become a free agent, and in this case for Kevin Durant to make a decision that he feels is best for him, and I have no idea what is in his mind or heart in terms of how he went about making that decision. But we’ll see. As I said, in a way the good news is that we are in a collective bargaining cycle, so it gives everybody an opportunity, owners and the union, to sit down behind closed doors and take a fresh look at the system and see if there is a better way that we can do it.
My belief is we can make it better.
This is a great answer. Someone can respect Durant’s decision while still desiring a system that doesn’t produce similar decisions.
But what is that system?
It needs to be something both owners and players agree on, which obviously removes some draconian options.
Eliminating individual max salaries might be the best compromise.
The Warriors had max cap room for Durant. They could not have kept their other stars and cleared enough cap space to compete with a mega offer from, say, the Nets. Perhaps Durant still would’ve chosen Golden State’s talent and culture. He took less money to leave the Thunder. But if the difference in money were far more significant, it would’ve given him more to consider.
Now is the time to resolve this issue (if it is an issue). Either side can opt out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement by December 15, which would cause it to expire after the season.
The more money the NBA is making, the less likely a lockout becomes -- and the league is making unprecedented money. Neither owners nor players will want to forgo that huge income for any amount of time.
But that’s not the only factor. If either side believes there’s more money to be made, it will push for it.
Silver’s answer suggests the owners believe increased parity is a better business model. Some players outside Golden State and Cleveland might agree, though, as Silver said, they’ll still play hard in the meantime to prove the oddsmakers wrong.
A third straight Warriors-Cavaliers Finals is not nearly as inevitable as it seems to many right now. A compelling season, despite initial reservations, could change the tenor of this conversation.