1. Golden State Warriors
Let’s face it. The Cavs are worse and Golden State (on paper) got better than they already were in the 2017 Finals.
No team has made significant enough moves to pass Golden State as the favorite.
The Warriors kept all their important pieces and added a couple solid upgrades to the bench.
While Irving is demanding a trade out of selfishness, Kevin Durant (who was bashed for not being a competitor) sacrificed personal pride, ego, accolades, and even money for the good of his team and overall success of the future of the franchise.
If the Cavs had guys with the team-first mentality of the Warriors, this wouldn’t be happening right now.
Durant, Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson aren’t going anywhere, at least for now. Barring a significant injury, it would be an upset of epic proportions if the Warriors don’t repeat.
Cleveland had the best arsenal of weapons to challenge the Warriors both in 2018 and possibly beyond (assuming LeBron and Kyrie both would have stayed past this season).
Right now, the only thing about the future of the NBA that’s close to a sure thing is Golden State is far and away the best team in the league heading into 2017-18 and probably has a year or two beyond that.
I know this isn’t a fun time for Cavs fans, but from a general NBA standpoint, the next few years are going to be interesting to watch play out. Whether LeBron stays in Cleveland or forms a new rival to try to challenge Golden State, this is obviously not something most pictured four days ago.
**Comment which teams you think have the best chance to dethrone Golden State in light of Irving’s trade request**
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