The rich keep getting richer in the NBA.
A day after the Los Angeles Lakers returned to prominence in the NBA by signing free agent superstar LeBron James, the Golden State Warriors responded to that threat by signing power forward DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins for the bargain price of $5.3 million at a term of one year.
Cousins joins Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, where all of those players have been NBA All-Stars. So has Cousins, and if he can return from last year’s Achilles injury to his usual form, how can anyone stop the Warriors from winning their third straight title and fourth in five years?
If you look at the NBA, the Warriors, Rockets and Lakers are the class of the Western Conference, while the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors are the best teams in the East. That could change if the Raptors decide to go in a new direction and trade some of their best assets. Reports out of Toronto indicate this is a legitimate possibility.
Cousins is a sensational player who averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, and he is capable of shooting well from the outside, as well as scoring regularly on the inside. He connected on 35.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in 48 games last season.
If Cousins’ rehab continues to go well, he should be back at full speed early in 2019, and that means he will be fully integrated into Steve Kerr’s system by the time the playoffs roll along.
It’s difficult to see anyone slowing down the Warriors – let alone stopping them – with yet another shiny superstar in the lineup.
This represents a big problem for commissioner Adam Silver.
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The NBA appears to be a healthy and strong league with incredibly money-making ability in North America and overseas. Basketball is the second-most popular sport in the world after soccer, and it continues to grow at a remarkable rate.
So, while all the outside factors look great for the NBA, the foundation of the league has developed a few cracks.
We mentioned six teams that appear to be in pretty good shape, and that includes the one dominant team in the Warriors.
What about the rest of the league? Things may be flourishing in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia, but what about New York, Chicago, Dallas and Portland?
What kind of chance do the Knicks, Bulls, Mavericks and Blazers have of competing for a championship in the foreseeable future?
The chances are not good for the next three to five years, and there is a stagnation within this sport that is just the opposite of the NFL.
You may point at the New England Patriots as being the standard bearer in the league since Tom Brady took over at quarterback and partnered with Bill Belichick, and you would be right. But the Patriots don’t win every year, as evidenced by championships won by the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks in recent years. And when they do win the Super Bowl, it is always by the slimmest of margins.
This year, the glory teams could be the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers or Oakland Raiders. Additionally, low-level teams like the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears have a chance to be substantially better after years of floundering.
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There is no real reason for optimism in other NBA cities. The idea of anything other than a series of devastating injuries derailing the Warriors is difficult to conceive of at this point.
So, what happens when the outcome of an upcoming season is a foregone conclusion for nearly the entire league? Major holes develop that will manifest themselves with factors like lower attendance, lesser TV ratings and fewer NBA items sold at the retail level.
The longer Golden State’s dominance goes on, the worse it is for the league.
The only saving grace of the Cousins signing is that it’s for one year only, and perhaps he can parlay a strong return and a championship season into a mega-contract with some team that is not named the Golden State Warriors.
The Celtics have climbed high after some down years, and the rise of the Sixers indicates that the tear-down process can work in the NBA. The Lakers have added James, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo in recent days and are on their way up.
Careful planning and better execution can help teams get better. But when a dynastic team can make a move that allows itself to get even stronger, it creates a sense of hopelessness for the majority of the competitors and their fans.
That cannot be a good thing, and that’s why Silver has a problem.
Follow Steve on Twitter at @Profootballboy