The NBA just isn’t what it used to be, plain and simple. True rivalries are over, because the money is much more than it used to be and teams are willing to spend in order to win. Back in 2004, the Lakers splurged to bring in Karl Malone and Gary Payton to assist Kobe and Shaq.
While the 2004 Lakers experiment failed, the Boston Celtics made a similar move in 2007, resulting in a championship the first year. In 2010, the Miami Heat broke the mold, winning two titles. Organically, the Golden State Warriors built and won, before collapsing last month.
Clearly, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson weren’t enough for the Cavs’ core of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. The Warriors, despite an all-time best record at 73-9, feel the need to retool and have been courting Kevin Durant. Sports pundits feel it’s close between the Warriors and the Thunder for Durant and Twitter, predicting the Dubs to win out, are going in on KD.
