The 2016 NBA Finals was easily one of the most entertaining and dramatic in the history of the NBA. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were down three games to one against the Golden State Warriors who finished with the best record in the history of the NBA at 73-9. The Cavaliers were thought to be goners at the end of game 4 but somehow they were able to come back and win the team's first title. It was a huge accomplishment for LeBron as he was finally able to bring a championship to his home team. In the aftermath of that final, the Warriors signed Kevin Durant, making them even more of a super team. Since then, the Warriors have won back-to-back championships.
In a new report from ESPN, it is said that at the time, Cleveland general manager David Griffin actually tried very hard to bring Durant to the Cavaliers. Griffin reportedly knew that if Golden State got him, the Cavs would be in big trouble, which turned out to be true. As Griffin describes in the report, he met with Durant but it was more of a formality than anything else.
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"I don't believe you can dream big enough in the NBA," Griffin said. "You have to go through the exercise."
Had Durant gone to Cleveland, the dynamics of the Golden State/Cleveland rivalry would have been changed drastically. So much so that we probably wouldn't see LeBron in a Lakers uniform right now.
