Report Card Grades for Each Golden State Warriors 2016 Free-Agent Signing

The Golden State Warriors are the undisputed victors of the free-agency circus, having landed the biggest prize of this summer’s crop in Kevin Durant.

The “rich get richer” aphorism has never been truer. The 2014-15 NBA champions took full advantage of the cap boom, strengthening the greatest regular-season team ever with a four-time scoring champion.

Anytime a superteam is assembled, the floodgates usually open. Seasoned veterans who are hungry for a championship tend to flock around such groups, willingly accepting significant pay cuts in return for roster spots. That is proving to be the case for the Dubs.

The Warriors are capped out with four All-Stars under contract, but filling out the bench with competent cogs is proving to be easier than expected. One roster spot is still available, according to Spotrac, but Golden State has already nailed free agency to perfection.

Kevin Durant

Durant’s decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in favor of the team responsible for his most recent postseason exit shocked the NBA and its fans. But once the combination of outrage and excitement settles, the immediate implications become obvious—Golden State will field possibly the greatest starting lineup in NBA history, and it will be a sight to behold.

The Warriors hardly needed any help on the offensive end. They scored a league-leading 112.5 points per 100 possessions last season, ahead of—ironically—second-place Oklahoma City, according to NBA.com.

Having to feed another volume scorer will likely require an adjustment period, but reigning MVP Stephen Curry is optimistic about his team’s ability to adapt, according to CBSSports.com’s James Herbert:

We got a lot of IQ on our team and I know we have a lot of unselfish guys that will figure it out. We might have to change up the roles a little bit, but for the most part, when we have fun doing what we do and relying on each other and playing together, I think that’s when the beautiful basketball happens. So we’ll be able to hopefully transition to that very quickly.

It’s tempting to compare the current edition of the Warriors to the Miami Heat’s assembly of stars in 2010. The trio of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade had to make concessions, and the start was a little shaky. As Curry suggests, greasing the gears should take significantly less time for the Dubs.

Even though Curry is a volume shooter, he’s also an excellent off-ball threat. There isn’t a better player in the league when it comes to flying behind screens and popping out to the perimeter for catch-and-shoot threes. With Durant handling the ball and …

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