TOP SPORTS STORIES O F 2 0 1 6 BY JAIME DEJESUS KEVIN DURANT AND THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Like any sport, the NBA wants parity. Sure, there’s a debate on whether having three or four ‘super teams’ is good for the league. But the main objective for the front office of the league is to create scenarios in which every team has a chance of winning a championship. That includes small market teams like Milwaukee, Charlotte, etc. It’s never an easy task. These small market teams that struggle often draft a superstar, only to have him leave during free agency to head to a bigger city. Miami was the last really successful team to lure away free agent stars, until Golden State. The Warriors were very bad for many years. They didn’t become champs overnight. It took great coaching, scouting and trading to win them a championship in 2015 and a jaw- dropping 73 wins the following year. As stated above, the Warriors were defeated by the Cavs and suddenly, a team that was considered the greatest ever, was looking for upgrades. Boy, did they ever find one. Kevin Durant, one of the four, probably three, best players in the game, became a free agent. He had taken the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that moved from Seattle, into being a yearly contender. OKC did everything in its power to bring him back. The power of winning and justifying your legacy with championships was too much for Durant to resist. So in the summer of 2016, Durant, an MVP candidate, signed with a team that already had 73 wins. It’s terribly bitter for Thunder fans as Durant almost led OKC to shocking the QNS.com 10 WINTER 2016
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