There are just a handful of NBA teams which can go toe to toe against the Golden State Warriors this coming 2017-18 NBA season. But at the end of the day, the reigning NBA champions are expected to come up on top once again.
Kevin Durant’s unselfish sacrifice of taking a pay cut worth more than $6 million made all of this happen. Giving enough breathing room, the Warriors front office managed to squeeze in Stephen Curry’s supermax contract while still retaining its championship core intact.
Kevin Durant's $25 million salary is $9.5 million less than his max, $6.8 less than expected and $1.54 million less than he made last year.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 3, 2017
Some teams made aggressive moves recruiting NBA superstars who could potentially give them the fighting chance to beat the Warriors, like the Boston Celtics.
Other teams, though retaining competitiveness, made little changes in the hopes of building a “superteam” in 2018. One of them is the San Antonio Spurs.
Recruiting LeBron James and CP3
The plan to bring LeBron James to San Antonio is a long shot, yet remains feasible. For one, the Spurs front office will bank on King James and head coach Gregg Popovich’s mutual respect to one another.
"I think he's the greatest coach of all time," LeBron said about Coach Pop back in January. The reply from the multi-titled NBA coach remains catchy and mysterious: “He owes me a lot of money, and he thinks I'll forget if he says something nice about me.” Does Coach Pop plan to lure LeBron to play for the San Antonio Spurs in 2018?
Gregg Popovich on LeBron's praise of him: "He owes me a lot of money, and he thinks I'll forget if he says something nice about me."
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 22, 2017
Somehow, whenever LeBron’s name appears, at least one of his “Banana Boat” buddies’ name surface. Chris Paul, who will return to the free agency fold next summer, remains one of the strongest contenders to join King James in San Antonio.
CP3 was in talks with the Spurs before being shipped to the Houston Rockets.
Difficult but doable
One of the problems the San Antonio Spurs must first resolve before they can go after LeBron and CP3 is their payroll. The plan remains doable but it heavily depends on the decisions of three Spurs players: LaMarcus Aldridge, Danny Green, and Rudy Gay.
All three have player options in 2018 and should they opt out, the chances to land LeBron and CP3 gets bigger. The plan will only get complicated if they decide to opt in, especially in the case of Aldridge, who stands to get $22.3 million in 2018-19.
There are other doable things which could bring the two superstars to San Antonio. For one, Texas has no state-income taxes which mean one or two could take less money and still feel more. But more importantly, things can be easier if all camps agree to one thing -- forming their version of Spurs' “super team” which has a fighting chance to beat the Golden State Warriors.
