The NBA of today has a problem. A big problem. Let’s call it, the Warrior Problem. Elite players continue to choose already established, winning teams to join. Sometimes for less money, sometimes for a smaller role, but always for an easier path to the ring. The Warrior problem was brought into the limelight in the past couple days with the DeMarcus Cousins signing.

That’s not to say Super Teams are a new concept. Some of these teams were successful, like the Heatles. Some of them not so much, like the Lakers. All had their own super teams born out of Free Agency discounts. The problem now is, they are forming, winning, and then getting better.

People are looking at this signing and say that the NBA has become a joke, the competition has turned into a one-horse race. One friend even joked to me that he would start watching soccer instead, because a scoreless draw would be more exciting than the upcoming NBA season.

I’m skeptical of the on the court impact that Boogie will have this season. He is a big body, and typically players are not the same when they come back from an Achilles injury. I don’t think this moves the needle in a huge way to the Warriors, but that’s mostly because the needle can’t move any more towards Oakland. But his impact is beside the point.

We saw a All Star Starter sign to the best team we had seen in a while. The same team that beat him in the playoffs. And then, 2 years later it happened again. Kevin Durant, and Demarcus Cousins are the reason I’m calling it The Warrior Problem.

This is a huge problem. I think the reason is players don’t want to win a ring for their team, or their city. They want to win a ring for their legacy. They want to win a championship because they feel that if they don’t, their career won’t mean as much.

Somewhere along the way, players got the idea that the destination is more important than the journey. That being the 5th best player on a championship team is better than leading a team to the finals and losing. That “It don’t mean a thing without the ring”.

The truth is, it’s our fault. We have been telling them exactly that for years.

The Warrior Problem is my fault. It’s your fault. It’s Skip Bayless’ fault . We continue to let rings dictate player legacies and accept arguments that a player isn’t great, because he never took a team all the way.

We have all heard the argument that MJ > LeBron because 6 > 3. We let the media tell us that sure Karl Malone was great, he might be #2 all time in scoring, but he never won a ring. We laugh when Shaq tells Barkley that he doesn’t get an opinion because he never won a ring

Once I saw the Boogie signing, I asked people if they were Adam Silver, what would you do to fix this situation. No one had a good solution. The truth is, there isn’t a lot he can do. But we sure can.

We can change the mind of the next free agent. We can convince KD that when his contract is up, going home to OKC, or even DC, whether he wins or loses, is going to mean more than another Warriors ring. We can tell Giannis that we see what he is doing in Milwaukee, even if it doesn’t end in a deep playoff run. Keep doing your thing young buck.

We can reject the argument that rings are the only thing that matters. We can look back at Reggie Miller’s career not with an asterix, but a mini “choke icon”. We can remember that John Stockton was a damn good player, and is #1 all time in steals and assists, and it’s not even remotely close

In 2011, it felt like Dirk was out there fighting for the future of the NBA. Drop stepping, spinning, and hitting that patented one legged step back to prove that the future of the league was not Super Teams. That championship meant so much because he won it for his adopted home, and because he didn’t win it with a phone call that lead to a signature on a contract.

In all likelihood, the Warriors are going to claim the trophy again this season. It’s probably too late to change that, but stop prioritising winning over everything, we might see a day when the next Championship isn’t decided in July.