CLEVELAND – As Wednesday night bled into Thursday morning, Cleveland general manager David Griffin found Bob Myers in a corridor to congratulate the Golden State general manager on the victory that pushed these NBA Finals to 3-0, delivering a knowing nod on a much larger vanquishing of the sport.

“You guys are awesome,” Myers told Griffin.

“You guys are something all together different,” Griffin responded, and soon the ultimate reason for that unmistakable truth emerged out of the Golden State locker room. Kevin Durant walked past two general managers on the way to the interview podium, on the cusp of a Finals MVP, a championship and perhaps the beginning of an NBA era that threatens to transform into a monument to his greatness.

This is Durant’s time now, born of his decision to depart Oklahoma City, a franchise’s foresight to recruit him and ultimately a perfect blend of personalities, culture and staggering talent.

Kevin Durant rises up for his go-ahead 3-pointer in Game 3. (AP) More

In so much of the conversation that surrounds Durant’s move to the Warriors, there’s a mistaken idea his arrival had been largely the product of a sudden spike in the 2016-17 salary cap. In some ways, it too easily dismisses the deftness of planning in Golden State’s summer coup and underestimates Durant’s deep desire to play for them.

Long before NBA owners and executives were fully abreast of how exactly the changing economics would impact the salary cap, how quickly the influx of new television money would be introduced into the cap, Golden State had targeted Durant and understood the machinations needed to get it there. Under the old salary cap, Golden State would’ve needed to renounce free agents (Harrison Barnes, Mo Speights and Leandro Barbosa) and trade Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala.

Under the new cap, Golden State did everything except move Iguodala to create the salary-cap space a year ago. For all the belief that Golden State was gifted the opportunity to sign Durant based upon the economic shift of the NBA television revenues, the truth is this: Golden State would’ve moved Iguodala to a team with salary cap space and still have Durant now.

The Warriors would miss Iguodala dearly, but Golden State wouldn’t have blinked at the chance to secure Durant. If the Warriors needed Durant to take less than the $26.5 million for 2016-17, he probably would’ve agreed to that, too.

“What we never talked about in those days in the Hamptons in July was money, and how much exactly he’d get in Golden State versus anywhere else,” Durant’s agent, Rich Kleiman, told The Vertical. “And that won’t be a factor this year in our talks with them either.”

In signing another new deal this July, Durant could accept moderately less money and preserve the Warriors’ ability to retain Iguodala and Shaun Livingston in free agency. There will never be a way for the NBA to legislate parity if teams are well-managed and well-run, and superstars are willing to pass on bigger money in pursuit of choosing a new destination.

And now, the Warriors have staying power, four All-Stars and two MVPs in the prime of Hall-of-Fame careers. Around the NBA, resistance feels futile. After Game 3, Sean Ford of USA Basketball was in the corridor outside the Warriors’ locker room, a man responsible for working with Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski in assembling the past three gold-medal-winning Team USA rosters.

“There were 10 USA Olympians on the floor tonight,” Ford marveled. For the Cavaliers, the trouble was this: Two players belonging to them – Deron Williams and Richard Jefferson – are far along into the downside of their careers.

That only makes what the Warriors have assembled that much more incredible. When Golden State gathered to recruit Durant in the Hamptons, Myers had constructed a roster and salary structure that allowed for the franchise to bring Iguodala to the presentation. After all, Iguodala wouldn’t be a cap casualty with Durant’s arrival. The Clippers couldn’t do that with J.J. Redick in the Hamptons, because he would’ve had to go upon Durant’s arrival.

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