Good thing the Warriors got Kevin Durant

Consider for a moment that the Golden State Warriors will only return to the NBA Finals after their opponent missed 27 straight three-pointers, many of them open, in a Game 7 after setting all sorts of three-point shooting records during the regular season. Consider, too, that said opponent, the Houston Rockets, was without their second-best player for that game.

Good thing the Warriors signed Kevin Durant.

There is nothing guaranteed in the NBA, not even for a collection of stars like the Warriors. The competition is too good, especially in the Western Conference this decade. This is why it could never be dishonorable for the Warriors to sign Durant as a free agent. That came after Golden State won 73 games but fell short in the 2016 Finals due to a trail of unfortunate dominoes knocked down by LeBron James, perhaps the greatest player ever at the peak of his powers.

Signing Durant was an awesome sign of respect for James and for the challengers to come. Any team would have done it.

You damn well know the Rockets would have done it. Odds are they will make a play for James or Paul George this summer, gunning to take the throne of dominance from the Warriors. Houston, led by the simultaneously patient and impatient Daryl Morey, made a huge couple of swings in 2017 to try to chase down Golden State even though Golden State hadn't ended their season. (The forgotten Spurs get credit for that.) Chris Paul was the headliner, and he was excellent until betrayed by his hamstring at the very end of Game 5. (A game CP3 essentially won for Houston.)

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