Creating Team Banana Boat

If that sounds dramatic.... well, it is. The Golden State Warriors won 73 games last year, and were considered one of the greatest teams of all time. Now they have added Kevin Durant in his prime, one of the greatest scorers ever, and a top 5 shooter of all time. They might not break that 73 win record-- the Warriors will have much less depth, and will probably rest their top players a whole lot more-- but should be far deadlier in the playoffs. Which is hard to imagine. They still need to clear cap space by trading Bogut and letting Barnes go, but selfish GM's in the NBA will help them, and soon the most powerful team of all time will be fully formed.

Let's get one thing out of the way. Kevin Durant had every right to do this. It's his choice, his life, his career. He gave many years to the OKC Thunder, and was the best player in their history. He wants to win a ring, it's his prerogative to go wherever he thinks the most likely path to that is. But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it, nor does anyone else. This is far worse than LeBron's decision: they were creating a team, not adding an upgrade, and only had three star players. The Warriors have four: Steph, Klay, Durant, Draymond. They will even be able to keep a couple of their role players from previous years, most importantly Andre Iguodala. They are going to be legitimately unstoppable barring a series of injuries.

Or are they? Theoretically, it could be possible to create "Team Banana Boat"-- Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony-- on two different teams. Pay cuts would have to be made, but the Superteam needs to be stopped, and the Banana Boat guys would probably love to be the people who do the stopping.

The Clippers could get the squad together by trading DeAndre Jordan for Carmelo, sending Blake to Cleveland for a sign and traded LeBron, and signing Wade to a discount deal after clearing cap space (by trading away JJ and waiving rookies). The issues with this approach are numerous: LeBron probably doesn't want to leave Cleveland, the Knicks are stacked at center and therefore don't need DJ, and Wade is tired of pay cuts.

So instead, I propose something that I was firmly against just a couple short weeks ago: trading Chris Paul to the Cavs for Kyrie Irving (and other assets). Look, I love Chris Paul, and he is probably a better player than Kyrie will ever be. But Irving is good, and there is no guarantee Paul comes back to the Clippers next year when he hits free agency. Kyrie is younger than Paul, and maybe in a few years, once the Warriors storm is over, he and the Griffin-Jordan duo will be good enough to carry the Clippers deep into the playoffs.

Once that happens, the Cavs will send Love to the Knicks for Carmelo (an upgrade for the Cavs, a youth push for the Knicks), and then clear some space for Wade. They would still be able to retain a key piece or two, including Tristan Thompson. They could then halfheartedly play through the regular season, push through the playoffs, and meet the Warriors in the Finals. The matchups would look like this:

Steph vs. CP3

Klay vs. Wade

Durant vs. Carmelo

Draymond vs. LeBron

Center to be named vs. Tristan

It would be the greatest clash of star power in NBA history, and would score unbelievable ratings. And honestly, I think the Cavs would be favored to win. The rest of the league might complain about not having a chance... but do they have one now? A LeBron led team has made the Finals for 6 straight years, and nobody in the East has made nearly enough strides to beat him. This Warriors roster speaks for itself. Nobody is beating these teams in either conference.

Every great villain needs a hero to stop them. Well, the Warriors just became perhaps the greatest villains in NBA history, and the heroes needed to stop them are Team Banana Boat. I doubt this team comes to fruition, but I hope it does, because every story needs a hero.