Sports on Draft

After the Cleveland Cavaliers adopted half the Eastern All-Star roster, it is legitimate that LeBron James transcended the notion of super-teams in the NBA, and now everyone in the league is buying in except for Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan believes that the super teams are “hurting the NBA.” Whether this statement can be subject to a debate, there is for sure evidence that NBA teams are making roster moves to better their chances in winning a championship.

The Cavaliers’ talent this year is throughout the roof, a team with so many weapons, it makes fans wonder how the hell it can be even possible. King James’ squad is even more deep than the other “super teams” in the league like Boston, Oklahoma City and the Houston.

While teams in the Eastern and Western Conference have made great strides this 2017 offseason to build a competitive team, it is still no match for the proverbial monster that is Cleveland and Golden State.

The Cavaliers have nearly 10 former All-Stars on their roster, over 3 MVPs’, and several star veterans. It is safe to say, this roster is deep.

Now that the LeBron James Campaign has acquired Dwayne Wade off free agency, the Cavaliers are flooded with talent as well as experience. Starting from Wade, to Rose, and all the way to Isaiah Thomas – their guard talent is ridiculous.

I mean, practically half their bench could be a starting-five on another team.

Coming off his MVP Finals performance, Kevin Durant and his fellow MVP Steph Curry, has the NBA world convinced they are still the best team in the league, amidst of all the trades with other powerhouses. The Warriors have done a great job managing their cap space in order to keep their talented roster, even with paying Durant and Curry to max contracts.

The belief the Warriors will be back to the Finals, and that they are still the best team in the NBA, is believable, because they still have all of their championship-caliber players. Besides the two former MVP’s mentioned on this Warriors’ squad, they still have their other star players: Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green.

Golden State’s bench is also loaded, starting with the athleticism of a Shaun Livingston to the veteran presence of a David West, this Warriors team is well-balanced.

Durant’s mission to win the chip last year was scary; as the 6’10’’ PF scored against the opposing defense at will, and did it every way possible. I imagine KD to have a similar inspiration as he did last year, especially after signing a 2-year, $53M contract with the Warriors.

After seeing these two powerhouses head to head in the Finals the past three years, the question comes into play – is it hurting the NBA? Following Jordan’s comments on the ‘era of NBA super-teams’, I imagine it is somewhat fair to question the domino effect in free agency led behind King James.

LeBron James had influenced the notion of super-teams way back when he joined forces with my Miami Heat in 2010. He flew to South Beach to not just to simply enjoy the beautiful atmosphere in Miami, or hang with his buddy Wade, he went there to win a NBA title.

Since things weren’t working out in his first time in Cleveland, he decided it was time to make a change if he really wanted to win his first ring.

Summer of 2017 has been a record-breaking year for NBA Free Agency; jaw-dropping contract numbers and the amount of trades has gotten everyone’s attention – including legendary Michael Jordan. According to ESPN, Jordan believes the NBA super-teams are hurting the league.

I agree that the essence of building super-teams is throwing off the balance in the NBA, but I don’t necessarily think it’s bad for the league. Jordan is definitely right when he said about the majority of the other teams in the league will be terrible compared to the six powerhouses.

On the other hand, back in the “dynasty” era, the balance of the league was similar with only having six great teams in the league. Realistically, the most dominating teams identified in this era were: Lakers, Celtics, Jazz, Bulls, Pistons, and Knicks.

While Jordan may have points in his perspective concerning super-teams, he is also somewhat subject to being hypocritical in his whole thesis because the dynasty era is very similar to what is gong on right now in the NBA. Both eras have made roster moves in a swift manner in order to win a title and only concerned a handful of dominant teams.

Overall, I am excited to see all of the new players on several teams in the league and see how the powerhouses clash in the playoffs.

Photo by Daydaydiscgolf (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons