Peak Stephen Curry came to play during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. The two-time MVP hit all seven of his shots from the field during a third quarter that essentially put the game out of reach.
He finished with a game-high 35 points, delivering a series of highlights for the home crowd and silencing the doubters who dubbed him as a liability.
Curry’s game came on the heels of two top performances by Kevin Durant where the former No. 2 overall pick scored 37 and 38 points in Game 1 and 2, respectively. Durant didn’t disappoint in Game 3, scoring 25 points, a total that nearly doubled every player in the game with the exception of Curry and James Harden.
Many were outraged when Durant elected to join Golden State during the summer of 2016, citing an unnatural balance in the basketball realm. However, it was an outcome made possible by a collection of events. Let’s examine how No. 35 was able to make his way to Northern California.
The Max Contract
The year is 1997 and Kevin Garnett is the league’s next bright, young star. At 22-years-old, his rookie contract is approaching its end and he signs a six-year, $126MM contract with Wolves during the 1997/98 season. It’s the biggest contract in the history of the league and NBA owners are fearful of what doling out those kinds of deals could mean for the future of their franchises.
The angst was partially to blame for the lockout during the 1998/99 season and the maximum salary deal was born as a result of heavy negotiations between owners and players. The new structure put a ceiling on what players could earn.
Imagine a world where there is no max salary and top players can earn what the market dictates. Someone like Durant could theoretically command 50% of the salary cap, maybe more. Instead, with the max deal limiting players’ earnings, shunning the most lucrative offer in favor of one with a better on-court situation becomes less of a sacrifice and teaming up with other superstars becomes more appealing.
The latest CBA gave teams a great tool in the Designated Players Extension, a deal designed to give organizations an unquestioned financial advantage in retaining their own players. This vehicle wasn’t yet available when Oklahoma City fought to keep Durant and some believe the new extension option came as a result of his departure.
Curry’s At-The-Time Below Market Deal
The Warriors signed the former No. 7 overall pick to a $44MM extension back in 2012 and he had one season left on that contract when Durant hit free agency in 2016. Curry had just come off back-to-back MVP seasons, one in which he was the only player in the history of the league to unanimously win the MVP award. Had there not been concern over Curry’s ankle, perhaps he signs a rookie extension similar to James Harden‘s $80MM deal back in 2012 and four years later, the Warriors might have needed to make real sacrifices in order to bring Durant in, assuming he comes at all under a new, slightly less favorable arrangement.
The NBA’s Salary Cap Spike
Another factor was the league’s massive media rights deal that caused a cap spike like we’ve never seen before. The 2016/17 salary cap increased by over $24MM from the 2015/16 figures. Prior to that spike, the year-to-year change never surpassed $8MM.
Leading up to the summer of 2016, the NBA and the NBA Players Association discussed a cap-smoothing proposal, as the owners foresaw some issues with the gargantuan spike. The 2016 free agent class would be the overwhelming beneficiaries from the media rights deal under the CBA’s framework and the NBA wanted to make an adjustment to the legal-binding agreement. The proposed plan would artificially lower the salary cap and the difference between the actual increase in basketball-related income and the proposed, lowered artificial salary cap would be evenly distributed to all the players in the league.
The altered agreement would have meant a much lower salary cap for teams heading into the 2016 offseason while providing the players with the same 51% of the revenue they were entitled to as part of the 2011 CBA. However, the NBA Player’s Union rejected the deal. (Fun fact: Chris Paul, a man who’s now trying to bringing down Golden State’s powerhouse, was the President of the NBPA at the time and remains in the position today).
July 2016 came without a solution for the spike and teams couldn’t spend the money fast enough. Over $2 billion worth of contracts were handed out in the first 48 hours of free agency. At the time, FiveThirtyEight estimated that the average contract in 2016 was overvalued by $4,4MM per year. Two years later with players like Timofey Mozgov ($16MM/year) and Joakim Noah ($18MM/year) getting paid handsomely, it’s arguable that the statistical publication was conservative on its estimates.
No one’s arguing that the Warriors mismanaged their financials by signing Durant to the two-year pact worth roughly $53MM. Golden State is nearly unstoppable when Durant and Curry are both on their games and the team has gone 26-4 in the postseason since Durant brought his talents to the bay area.
Durant’s signing will forever be known as a move that altered the league, one that was made possible by a perfect storm. You’ll hear criticism and complaint from many parties, but it was a group effort that built the bridge allowing Durant to waltz over to Golden State. In addition to the Warriors, the league’s owners and players are among those responsible for his ability to take that path.
Photos Courtesy of USA TODAY Sports Images
For people who complain think of it this way. When you play an online video game, do you join a team that is struggling that you think you could maybe help? Do you join the team that offers you the best chance for loot? Oflr do you join the team that is best suited to take advantage of your skills and win? It’s the same thing in the professional world. You join the most successful company or one with potential to be very successful. You don’t join a mediocre company as a first choice.
Durant will always have an * next to his championship(s) because he can’t man up. It’s that simple.
he went to the beat team and became the best player. period. if he went to GS and was just riding the wave i could understand that, but hes literally the best player on the team and led them to the title. in this era of super teams, how could u be mad at him for that? lebron started this era when he went to the heat. that was “unbalanced” they went to the finals every single year. is there an * next to brons titles? play ball man
LeBron removed his * by winning it in Cleveland.
Players joined with the Heat together to create a team, they weren’t already loaded and added a Superstar. Way different.
So lebron should join them this summer? Durant ruined the NBA. He joined a team that was coming off of the greatest regular season ever, and was a game away from being back to back champs. There is no real competition with that stacked of a team. Durant had every right to joint the warriors, but he should have seen that no one will respect anything he wins on that team. I haven’t watched any of the playoffs this year other than the wizards because of how uncompetitive the game is now.
I think he did the right thing honestly, teams just have to step it up simple as that. All they did was draft well and signed a superstar that’s it. They can be beat but you need communication and chemistry on both ends of the floor at all times. The Rockets will take them out in 7.
I’m not faulting the warriors at all. Idk if the league should have allowed that in terms of the competition of the league. But the warriors and any other team should go for the best players out there. I just think Durant was wrong in thinking his legacy would be boosted for joining an already great team. He was a game away from knocking the warriors out in the conference finals the year before (if I’m remembering right they were up 3-1). That thunder team was competitive with the warriors. Had he stayed they would have beaten them the next season and he would be given all the credit he deserves. Instead he turns around and joins the team that beat him. I don’t get it. Is he not competitive at all? Wouldn’t you want to have your own team that is great because of you rather than be on a team that was great without you?
They can be beat, but it won’t be because everyone was at their best basketball, which is what is good basketball: two teams at their best going head to head
Westbrook wanted to do everything himself just like Lebron did. So Durant and Kyrie took different paths.
People like you are to blame, obssessing over James, overshadowing others.
I get why everyone is upset at Durant, but super teams happen all the time, and that’s when you get dynasties. Look at the Spurs and the lakers in the 2000’s. The bulls big 3 in the 90’s. Heck even Bird, Mchale, and parish vs Majic, Kareem, and Worthy. The original rivalry of lakers vs Celtics in the 60s had nba finals starting lineups almost completely of now hall of famers. The only way a team can win is to have a super team. Now I don’t know how much Durant increased the chances of them winning the finals, but they were already a dynasty in the making. Obviously he didn’t have that in OKC(yes they DID have it, but they traded Harden before he exploded)and he wanted it so he left. You can’t fault a player wanting to win when management wasn’t able to do it for him when he was playing at a MVP all time great level. He went and got it himself. Because it’s not his job to please fans. It’s his job to win basketball championships. Kareem was the first to do it. Everyone seems to forget that. Then Lebron did the same thing too. People argue Lebron could’ve joined the Celtics, lakers or spurs, but chose not to unlike Durant with the Warriors. Do you mean to tell me that the heat weren’t historically dominant? Sounds familiar. Durant got what he needed to win. Props to him. But the warriors aren’t going to be the only super team for long. (76ers, Celtics). Just give it a few years, just like everyone did with the other super teams. Like all dynasties they eventually come to an end, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a lot sooner than everyone thinks.
The Heat were far from dominant; they had competition during their 4 year run. The Warriors have no competition.
No competition? They don’t play in the east where Lebron has had no competition his ENTIRE career!
Lebron makes the competition look weak, before the playoffs everyone had the Raptors in the Finals even saying they were going to win it all. Lebron romps them and now he has a cakewalk lol, you haters make me sick.
You just said the Rockets will beat them in seven. Isn’t that the definition of competition?
Look at how well KD’s game translates in GS: no real ball dominant player, they all love to pass and move the ball and no egos. If you can’t see the appeal there, you’re being too salty.
The Warriors are far from unstoppable the Rockets are just playing iso ball and playing right into their hands.
1. Super team theme started w/the Celtics.
2. LeBron perfected it.
3. GSW got lucky that Curry had weak ankles early on.
4. Durant on GSW is the closest anyone’s come to re-creating the Dream Team on an NBA Roster outside of NBA2K.
5. How crappy is it to be OKC when you had Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, and Durant? If they stuck it out who knows, they could have been the GSW. Gave up on that sQuad too early.
Lebron never perfected anything. He simply made a top heavy roster with Miami accompanied by a cast of past their prime shooters. Wade was nothing special the last 2 seasons with Lebron in Miami and Lebron ultimately had to carry that roster. I don’t think anyone considered Lebron,Kyrie, and Love super.
Must suck for OKC in that they essentially chose Ibaka over Harden.
This is a great article. I don’t fault Durant at all but I fault the league for being setup this way. I’ve never been less interested in the NBA than I have over the last 4 years. It’s just so incredibly stale.
It’s not just Durant either. All the cap and salary rules make it so hard for teams to swing into contention. There’s no surprises or excitement. Rebuilding teams are stuck rebuilding for years until all their contracts are off the books.
I still watch some games but I do feel like things have gotten a lot more predictable lately.
I still got Houston winning in 7 against Golden State. Next game Houston pulls out a close one, they’ll win Game 5 at home, Golden State takes Game 6, and Rockets blow the Warriors out Game 7.
You didn’t watch the game last night did you? Lol
Yes I did and it won’t happen again, Houston in 7.
I hope so man, but it’s game 3 and they’re still playing ISO. If they haven’t adjusted by now I doubt they will.
I think the new refs have made the game better.
I would like to be Deeonis bookie.
Durant wanted a ring. Period. Who can fault that?