Beyond the ongoing NBA Finals 2017 series between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers and regardless of the result, NBA fans can expert more superteams to emerge in the mold of the Kevin Durant-led GSW and the Cavs designed to win or lose with King James, LeBron James that is.
NBA analyst Howard Beck, writing for Bleacher Report, is convinced there will be superteams to make for more exciting NBA seasons to come. Speculations are rife Paul George will leave the Indiana Pacers and head to the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers. When that happens the Lakers will certainly recruit talents to take advantage of the George acquisition, and it's nothing new in the NBA.
In the 1980's the Lakers dominated starring Magic Johnson then the Chicago Bulls took over and bannered by Michael Jordan with support coming Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr. Beck said the present day and future NBA will continue to see the same.
The Warriors-Cavaliers dominance is not about to be eclipsed anytime soon but according to Beck there will be new tandems what will pick from the GSW's Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. Or NBA title contenders built around a superstar - like King James on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The analyst said DeMarcus Cousins is expected to help transform the texture of the Washington Wizards with welcome help provided by John Wall and Bradley Beal. In Boston, Isaiah Thomas will continue to rise as the team's franchise player and should be supported by Al Horford and Ricky Rubio.
And in Los Angeles, it is believed Russel Westbrook will eventually take the same route opened by Durant and leave Oklahoma for the Lakers. If the rumors are correct, Paul George will be on the same team soon and task of putting up a new super Lakers team will be easier for Magic Johnson.
It used to be that creating superteams was a complicated thing like what happened when LeBron left Cleveland for the Miami Heat to win two NBA rings. As Beck recalled, the superhero that was James became everyone's most-hated villain. But he harvested NBA titles anyway and in the end his decision to switch from one superteam to another proved the right thing to do, at least as far as his legacy is concerned.
The same thing appeared to be the motivation when Durant jumped from Oklahoma to California. The personal agenda is to win championships and Kevin was convinced his ticket to the Larry O'Brien Trophy by way of the Golden States Warriors. And now that the GSW enjoy a 2-0 lead over the Cavaliers, it became clear that like King James he made the right choice.
Team switching when most unexpected likely borders to betrayal but what James and Durant did can be characterized as a game-changer with sufficient aid from the free agency thing, Bleacher Report said. James and Durant paved the way for creation of the modern superteam era last seen during the glory days of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan and it is the NBA that benefitted the most.
Beck said the dominance of superteams like the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Warriors might be perceived as problematic. But the likely solution, if indeed it is a problem, he added, "to superteam dominance might just be more superteams."
