Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry (Photo : Ezra Shaw | Getty Images Sport)
The NBA rumor mill was shook when yet another declaration linking Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors emerged.
The credit goes to ESPN's Chris Broussard in the video, as he states that the Warriors would also join the Durant derby. While that is not entirely new, the idea has spread around the league's executives, as he claims.
"At this point, everything is speculation," Broussard said. "When you talk to some executives, a name that has been thrown will shock people - Golden State. Now, this is not something coming out Durant's camp. There are those around the league that think Golden State is a possibility."
Although it was clear that it's "not from Durant's camp" (avoiding another Stephen A. Smith episode), it does provoke interest that executives around the league are warming up to it.
NBC's Dan Feldman illustrated the scenarios that could be in play to bring the league's second best player (arguably) to the current best team (indisputable).
One way is to sign him outright, as Durant will be a free agent. To do so, the Warriors need to clear some cap space and Feldman suggested trading away Andrew Bogut, Jason Thompson and Shaun Livingston as well as their first round pick, they could clear enough salary for Durant's max, pegged at around 30 million (based on the projected 90 million cap).
The Warriors in this scenario would have a new core of Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green which would be an insane starting lineup. However, they would need to create a whole new bench crew with minimial salary.
There are also two different scenarios for sign-and-trades concerning the Warriors' two restricted free agents: Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli.
"The Warriors could also try swapping Barnes for Durant in a dual sign-and-trade," Feldman explained. "That'd trigger a hard cap, but that's the least of the complications. Durant, Barnes and the Thunder would all have to agree. But at least that route could allow Golden State to re-sign Festus Ezeli."
He continued: "If the Warriors want to keep Barnes while adding Durant, they could ask Oklahoma City how many draft picks they'd have to attach to a sign-and-trade package of Bogut, Jason Thompson and Livingston. Again, that'd leave Golden State hard-capped, but it'd at least be possible - depending on the exact luxury-tax line - to re-sign Barnes."
As illustrated, there are ways to make it happen. The Warriors will sacrifice depth and chemistry in any scenario, but they have the chance to build a dynasty even LeBron James could not touch.
