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Steve Kerr took his Golden State Warriors team to the NBA Finals in each of the past five seasons, taking over the league thanks to a video game-like roster that featured numerous All-Stars to win three titles during the run. And while the era seems to have come to an end with the departures of Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, as well as the long recovery for Klay Thompson following a torn ACL, one can never count out a team led by Stephen Curry.
While the Warriors of the past five years seem to epitomize everything that’s wrong with the NBA and the superteam trend, Steve Kerr thinks that the power some players have while under contract is too much. The Warriors said as much during an appearance on the Warriors Insider Podcast, where he spoke about specifically about how Anthony Davis forced a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Los Angeles Lakers, even though he was under contract for two seasons. Take a look at what Kerr said below.
“I’m talking more about the Anthony Davis situation,” Kerr said on The Warriors Insider Podcast. “Where a guy is perfectly healthy and has a couple years left on his deal and says, ‘I want to leave.’ That’s a real problem that the league has to address and that the players have to be careful with.
“When you sign on that dotted line, you owe your effort and your play to that team, to that city, to the fans. And then [once the contract runs out] it’s completely your right to leave as a free agent. But if you sign the contract, then you should be bound to that contract.
“If you come to an agreement with the team that, hey, it’s probably best for us to part ways, that’s one thing. But the Davis stuff was really kind of groundbreaking — and hopefully not a trend, because it’s bad for the league.”
Let’s be honest, whether you love or hate the Warriors, they built their roster through the draft and one major signing in Durant during the summer of 2016. Sure, it changed the entire landscape of the league by having the superstar join a team that had won 73 games that previous season, but he was a free agent and had the right to sign anywhere he wanted to. That wasn’t the case with Anthony Davis, who was under contract with the Pelicans and made things uncomfortable between he, the team and the fanbase by demanding a trade to just one team; the Lakers.
In response to the trade request, the NBA did fine Davis $50,000 for the demand, and the team pretty much shut him down the rest of the season. But the damage was done and the writing was on the wall, with the player even wearing an awkward “That’s All Folks!” shirt during the season finale.
While Davis got his wish and the Pelicans secured a ton of young assets, Steve Kerr makes a good point about the strategy being a bad look for the league. Contracts are supposed to be honored, and, while the Davis situation is (hopefully) the exception rather than the rule in the NBA, the fact that it happened should have the league thinking about how to shut it down before it does become a trend. As Davis showed, he can get the most money by re-upping with a current team, then force his hand in a trade a year or two later; which just seems sketchy
Steve Kerr is the most outspoken head coach in the NBA, so it’s good to see him be honest about the Davis situation, while also trying to get the league’s attention that something needs to be done in order to prevent this kind of thing happening more frequently in the future.