NEW YORK - Fresh off another title run last month, Golden State is hungry for more.
Per multiple reports, the Warriors are trying to "put together a package" that would bring back disgruntled Kevin Durant from Brooklyn to the Bay Area and reunite the Slim Reaper with the Splash Brothers.
If a mutual agreement can be reached, KD is headed to San Francisco in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga.
Should the Warriors pull the trigger?
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If the goal is to win now, yes you pull all the stops to get a player of Durant's credentials.
But if the aim is to traffic in sustained excellence beyond the Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green era, you must resist the temptation.
Wiggins is only 27, a freshly-minted All-Star. Poole is 23 and slowly but surely coming into his own. Wiseman is 21 and still 7-foot tall while Kuminga is 19 with limitless potential.
WIN NOW AND SUFFER FOR ETERNITY?
They are the core of the future and you don't want to mortgage that.
There is a lesson to be learned in the 1990s Chicago Bulls. They were dynastic for sure but they have been wading mostly in mediocrity ever since because there appeared to be no plan in place to acquire and keep pieces for tomorrow.
KD together with Steph and Klay is a lovely illusion but it ain't happening.
Warriors GM Bob Myers is a realist who makes sound business decisions above reunions and nostalgia.
HIGH RISK. A report came out yesterday that the L.A. Lakers were willing to pry Kyrie Irving from the Nets for Russell Westbrook. But the deal hit a road bump when Nets declined to include Seth Curry in the package, offering only Joe Harris instead.
I know Irving can be daunting to deal with as an employee but his talent demands you take the risk. So you take this deal if you're the Lakers even if you prefer Seth more than Joe.
The rules on rebuilding don't apply to the Lakers. They are so rich they don't grow tomatoes; they just buy the best ones in the market.
A Kyrie-LeBron tie-up is actually a reunion worth happening.
KAI UPDATE. With the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas about to kick off, it is almost certain that Kai Sotto won't be in the showcase.
As I was writing this NBA column, an agent called me to say that it is "highly unlikely" for Kai to be inserted in a line-up this late in the game because teams have already been practicing.
What's Kai's next step remains a mystery. Both the folks at EWP, Sotto's handlers, and his agent, Joel Bell, have clammed up.
The agent also added that "playing for three teams in three years didn't help Kai grow as a basketball player and achieve the lifetime goal of being drafted in the NBA this year."