Kevin Durant’s dominance makes the Warriors’ future even more intriguing

The idea that the Warriors will be OK if KD leaves in free agency looks far less likely with every dominant playoff performance.

Something everyone has acknowledged all season is that the Warriors will likely be very different and quite possibly fallible within the next year or two. Kevin Durant, you might have heard, is a free agent again this summer, and the rumor mill has him ready to leave the Warriors after two or three (probably three) championships. Draymond Green is a free agent in 2020, and is due a big paycheck, and it’s not at all clear Golden State wants to invest that kind of commitment for a player like Green at this point in his career and the team’s arc.

Durant could end up staying. It’s hard to ignore just how embedded he’s become in the Bay Area in under three years, and being surrounded by players this good has to be enjoyable on some level, despite critiques that he has it easy and concerns that sentiment would affect his reputation and legacy (something he and his alterego Quire Sultan clearly care about).

But let’s imagine Durant leaves. Now, consider how dominant he’s been in this postseason. KD has been the best Warriors player in six of the team’s eight games. He shares the court and load with a two-time NBA MVP in his prime. It’s pretty incredible what Durant has accomplished thus far given the make-up of the team. It’s also not entirely new: remember that Durant has both Finals MVPs since arriving in Golden State.

Just how good will the Warriors actually be if Durant leaves and Golden State replace him with another All-Star?

There are two schools of thought on this. The first is that Curry, a truly benevolent teammate, has kept his powers in check to allow Durant to flourish since arriving in 2016, especially in the playoffs. This is Curry as the ultimate captain, someone cognizant of the egos involved and willing to sacrifice his own legacy (as in four titles with no Finals MVP) for the greater good. If you’re on board with this theory, then in theory Curry could retake his mantle as the alpha and omega of the Warriors once Durant leaves, Golden State could be every bit as good, and the team would still be the dominant force in the Western Conference and NBA until something happens with Green or the wheels come off Curry.

The other school of thought is this is the late Heatles redux, with Durant as LeBron James circa 2014 and Curry as Dwyane Wade.

The speed with which the Heat fell apart once LeBron left was swift, and the causes were plenty. Wade’s age-related decline prevented him from playing like the Wade that ruled Miami in pre-LeBron days. Chris Bosh, obviously, suffered career-ending medical issues. The Heat weren’t at all prepared for LeBron’s hasty exit, and the lack of a back-up plan was evident. The Heat are, in some ways, still recovering from the dominoes that fell parallel to LeBron’s goodbye.

Curry is better now than Wade was then, and — God willing — no one in Golden State will suffer as Bosh did. But Green does appear to be on the precipice of leaving the program or regressing outside of All-Star status. His name will be all over the trade rumor mill this summer no matter what else happens with Golden State. Durant is somewhat less central to the Warriors’ power as LeBron was to the Heat’s, which is primarily a commentary on LeBron’s supreme excellence in that era and Curry’s continued, amazing ability to matter even as the sometimes second trumpet instead of the lead.

Given everything written in the paragraph above, the Warriors should not fall as hard or fast as Miami. But that type of decline is one bound in the range of possibilities for what comes next in Golden State. Every close playoff game that Durant dominates makes it seem all the more possible.

Curry and Durant are so different. You don’t get the sense that having three or four rings without a Finals MVP would bother Curry all that much. He’s comfortable with what he’s already proven. You do get a sense that if Durant leaves, he’ll still want to prove he can win a title without being on the most stacked team if the millennium, despite having two or three Finals MVPs to go with his two or three rings. He’ll never be comfortable that he’s proven enough.

Durant’s run in Golden State couldn’t happen if Curry were any different, and this might not have worked at all if Durant wasn’t so driven to prove everyone wrong all the time. It’s been, in the ways that count, perfect.

That makes what comes next so uncertain and thrilling to all of us waiting for the future to unfurl.