NBA analyst, and former coach, Jeff Van Gundy believes that the Golden State Warriors will be able to defend their NBA title. And if nothing changes on its roster, they may pull off a three-peat.
According to the former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, only the Cleveland Cavaliers have the capacity to defeat the Warriors. However, after Kyrie Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers’ chance of winning another NBA title decreased drastically even with LeBron James and Kevin Love.
The Warriors dynasty
Van Gundy believes that even if the Cavaliers successfully trade their 2018 first-round draft pick to get Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder, they still won’t be able to defeat the Warriors.
He thinks that the Warriors led by the Big Four -- Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green -- is unbeatable especially when the NBA title is on the line.
For the man who will lead the US men's national basketball team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup and the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, this season is already over even before it began. Not even for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who added former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, and Isaiah Thomas, who placed fifth during last season’s MVP race.
“We're gonna play it out, and the Warriors are gonna win,” Van Gundy said during his appearance on SiriusXM. But former NBA coach goes on to say that as long as the Warriors’ roster stays the same, “The Warriors are gonna win forever.”
▶️ "The @warriors are going to win forever" - Jeff Van Gundy on The Starting Lineup with @FisolaNYDN & @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/y4Y2KAFhQE
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 5, 2017
As we all know, the Warriors bagged their second NBA title in three years, defeating the Cavaliers during the 2017 NBA Finals.
Should they bring home this upcoming season’s title and also claim the 2019 NBA Finals championship, they will only be the fifth NBA team to do a three-peat.
Solidifying the Warriors
During the offseason, KD opted out his $27.7-million contract to become a free agent, agreeing to a lower $25 million to help create salary cap space.
Later, Steph agreed to a five-year deal worth $201-million with the Golden State Warriors. Last July 25, Steph and KD along with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia and David West re-signed with the Warriors joining Klay and Draymond. They later re-signed big man JaVale McGee.
The team also added free agents Nick Young and Omri Casspi, and Chris Boucher who went undrafted during the 2017 NBA Draft. He will join the Warriors’ lone draft pick which they got from the Chicago Bulls for cash considerations.
