Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Jeff Van Gundy: “2018 Is A Wrap, This Season Is Over. The Warriors Will Win Forever”
Last season, the Golden State Warriors were basically unstoppable and there isn’t much hope that this will change in the coming season.
The Warriors managed to bring back every starter and key bench player from last season’s championship-winning team. Kevin Durant resigned on a bargain deal, his maximum contract would have had a value of $34.6 million. After signing his contract, Durant will “only” earn $26 million this coming season. By missing out on the $9 million, Durant will mostly help the Warriors’ owners, who are able to cut the amount of luxury tax they’ll have to pay in half. Shaun Livington, Andre Iguodala and JaVale McGee also resigned with the team. The only valuable player the Warriors lost is Ian Clark.
Other teams may have improved their rosters (specifically the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets), but no team is near the level the Warriors, who on top of that will be even more well attuned to each other in their second year with Durant.
NBA expert and Team USA coach Jeff Van Gundy also believes that no one will be able to stop the Warriors from taking home the gold once again. In an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Van Gundy predicted Warriors dominace not only for this coming season, but also for the 2018/2019 season.
“With the way the Warriors are, unless you’re trading that pick for — give me a name — Paul George, you’re still not better than the Warriors. The Warriors are gonna win forever… this season is over. We’re gonna play it out, and the Warriors are gonna win. And then the next year it’s gonna be the same thing. The Bulls actually had challengers during their run of greatness — series going to the end, they had to summon everything they had. The Warriors — this is over. 2018 is a wrap. Let’s start talking about 2019… Who’s beating them four out of seven times? Just wake me up when something changes with their roster, because it’s over.”
▶️ "The @warriors are going to win forever" – Jeff Van Gundy on The Starting Lineup with @FisolaNYDN & @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/y4Y2KAFhQE
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 5, 2017
