05/11/2024

Kevin Durant on LeBron James’ reported interest in Warriors: 'Bullshit'

Jueves 01 de Febrero del 2018

Kevin Durant on LeBron James’ reported interest in Warriors: 'Bullshit'

Late el miércoles por la noche, cuando salió a la luz un informe de ESPN que LeBron James consideraría reunirse con los Warriors si estuviera disponible un salario máximo, Kevin Durant tuvo una reacción simple. "Bullsh-", dijo Durant como respuesta. "Bullsh-". Después del entrenamiento del jueves, varios jugadores de Golden State se burlaron de la idea de que James - el líder indiscutible del equipo que ha enfrentado a los Warriors en las últimas tres finales de la NBA - se les uniera. De por sí, los aspectos financieros harían que tal desarrollo fuera complicado, como mínimo.

Late el miércoles por la noche, cuando salió a la luz un informe de ESPN que LeBron James consideraría reunirse con los Warriors si estuviera disponible un salario máximo, Kevin Durant tuvo una reacción simple. "Bullsh-", dijo Durant como respuesta. "Bullsh-". Después del entrenamiento del jueves, varios jugadores de Golden State se burlaron de la idea de que James - el líder indiscutible del equipo que ha enfrentado a los Warriors en las últimas tres finales de la NBA - se les uniera. De por sí, los aspectos financieros harían que tal desarrollo fuera complicado, como mínimo.

Late Wednesday night, when an ESPN report surfaced that LeBron James would consider meeting with the Warriors if a max salary was available, Kevin Durant had a simple reaction.

“Bullsh—,” Durant said of his response. “Bullsh—.”

After practice Thursday, several Golden State players poked fun at the notion of James — the unquestioned leader of the team that has faced the Warriors in the past three NBA Finals — joining them. The financials alone would make such a development tricky, at best.

The Warriors, who have roughly a league-high $135 million tied up in payroll, would probably need to orchestrate a sign-and-trade to land James. According to ESPN, Golden State could potentially make Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala the centerpieces of an offer that would match salary and entice the Cavaliers into making a trade.

Making a sign-and-trade feasible would require Durant to exercise his player option, taking less than his current annual salary of $25 million, and Shaun Livingston’s salary would need to be moved. Under that scenario, the Warriors would probably need to round out their bench with minimum salaries.

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Is it actually possible that LeBron James would go play for NBA’s most stacked team? SPN’s Chris Haynes reported late last night that LeBron would “listen” aka take a meeting with the Warriors this off-season if they could create a max salary slot. The league sources went on to say “Out of respect for the Warrior’s winning culture, James would listen if Golden State explored ways to clear the necessary cap space." How many rings could LeBron end his career with if this happened?

Media: Hollyscoop

Golden State likely isn’t willing to overhaul its roster, even for arguably the best player in the world. It boasts four All-Stars in their prime, and it is well-positioned to chase its third NBA title in four years. James, at 33, would conceivably demand to be the face of the franchise, a big ask with Stephen Curry still on the team.

Center David West cited another reason James-to-Golden State is unlikely: “He’s got to get No. 23 from Draymond” Green.

“It’s not interesting because you turn on TV, you turn on anything that has to do with basketball, there’s less about the game,” Durant said. “As a pure basketball player, as a pure fan of the game, at this point, it’s pretty sickening.”