Which NBA teams could step up to challenge the Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors aren't necessarily bad for the NBA, but the league could use some challengers to step forward. Is a rival superteam possible? Here are some ideas:
Cleveland: Sure, they're sort of a superteam, but they don't seem ready to knock off the Warriors.
There has been talk of the Cavs adding Paul George or Carmelo Anthony, but how would that even happen? Cleveland won't have cap space for years, so it would need to be a trade, and what team would take on high-salaried role players such as J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson or Iman Shumpert in return?
In theory, the Cavs could trade Kevin Love for George, but even that's a questionable move with George approaching free-agency next year.
Boston: The Celtics might be in the best spot since they already have a good team and will likely add No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz in the draft. They also have enough cap space to make a run at someone like Gordon Hayward.
Hayward is in a good spot in Utah, but he could reunite with his college coach, Brad Stevens, and also get away from the Warriors by jumping to the Eastern Conference.
San Antonio: There has been speculation the Spurs could chase Chris Paul to step in for an aging Tony Parker. That's interesting, but San Antonio would need to trim salary.
Moving Danny Green ($10 million) would help, but that only creates about $15 million in cap space. Paul Gasol's player option for $16.2 million looms large here.
Miami: Depending on how much of Chris Bosh's salary gets wiped off the books if he officially retires, the Heat could have good cap space to find help for Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic. One wild card is how much it will cost Miami to keep shooting guard Dion Waiters after his breakout year.
Houston, Oklahoma City: The league's leading MVP candidates, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, would seem to be in a good spot to offer competition. The Rockets have a little bit of cap space, but would need to make some clever moves. OKC has a couple of regrettable extensions kicking in for Victor Oladipo (four years, $84 million) and Steven Adams (four years, $100 million). OKC has no cap space and few attractive trade pieces, so good luck to Westbrook.
Bulls: Clearly, the Bulls fell on the wrong side of superteam history in 2010. A few days after the Cavs were eliminated from the playoffs by Boston that spring, LeBron James called Derrick Rose to talk about the possibility of joining the Bulls, and many people pegged the Bulls as the team to beat. But then Rose didn't recruit LeBron, Dwyane Wade did, and the rest is history.
Maybe the Bulls will get a second chance at superteam glory. Management has talked about making a push in 2018 after contracts for Wade and Rajon Rondo expire.
One problem is the potential class of 2018 free agents isn't deep. Westbrook can opt out, so that's one to watch. So can Paul George, but he seems to be eyeing the Lakers. The best of the rest are DeMarcus Cousins, DeAndre Jordan, Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Brook Lopez. The two Celtics figure to stay put, and big guys don't win championships in the NBA these days.
The Bulls could try to lure a free agent this year with their $20 million in cap space. Would Paul agree to join his Banana Boat buddy Wade? Sounds like a long shot.
Maybe Blake Griffin would opt for a fresh start in the East, but a max contract doesn't make sense for a guy who looks to be on the down slide.
Point guards such as Paul or Toronto's Kyle Lowry are a tough call anyway since the Bulls have to make a decision on Rondo's contract before free agency begins.
As mentioned here before, if the Bulls pursue a free agent this summer, they should start with Denver's Danilo Gallinari. He's the same age as Butler, could be a high-scoring stretch-four and the sales pitch that "you'll never get out of the first round in the West" applies here.
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