The Warriors might be the NBA’s last dynasty for quite some time.
At least, that’s what retired 15-year veteran JJ Redick believes.
On the latest episode of "The Old Man & the Three" podcast, Reddick explained why Golden State's historic run could be the league's last.
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“Is the Golden State Warriors run the last dynasty run we will see? The reality is [that] free agency is dead [and] doesn’t exist anymore for the top players,” Redick said. “Teams aren’t getting a Kevin Durant [anymore]. These guys are signing these massive extensions. On top of that, the rules around the second apron of the luxury tax will make contending teams very restricted in the type of moves they can make to add to their roster.”
Due to the league’s latest collective bargaining agreement, contending teams will struggle to land stars like Durant in free agency like Golden State did in 2016.
Redick recognizes the slow collapse of star-studded free agency classes, thus highlighting the trading of superstars around the NBA as a counteract.
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“[The] Phoenix Suns are a great example of this,” Redick declared. “They’ve bet the house on the big three of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker [and] Kevin Durant. There’s not a lot of optionality they have going forward. Even the Denver Nuggets, they’re going to be faced with some difficult decisions to make in the coming years as they will be up against that second apron for sure. They have three max players on their roster right now.”
Considering the Steve Kerr-led Warriors boast four rings, six NBA Finals appearances and rosters decorated with All-NBA and All-Star players, it’s fair for Redick to doubt any team’s ability to emulate Golden State’s legendary, dynastic run -- especially as rules and regulations continue to evolve.
But Redick believes teams can similarly stack their rosters like the Warriors in one particular way, granted they do it right.
“The point I always like to make… You’ve got to build your team through the draft,” Redick explained. “And that will become more and more apparent over the next five to seven seasons. It remains to be seen if some of these gambles for trading for players, i.e. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in Phoenix [pay off].
“But I do know this: in most cases…modern NBA dynasties, most of the core group if not all in some cases, were drafted by the team that ended up having a modern NBA dynasty.”
Golden State managed to draft Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green within a few years of each other, proving it’s possible to build contending rosters and future NBA Hall-of-Fame trios through the draft.
When identifying the direction the league is trending, Redick is right to believe there might not be another dynasty.
But if teams are going to try to copy Golden State, they must do it through the draft, as free agency is declining as a once-lucrative option.
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