NBA Commissioner: Kevin Durant Move Legitimate, Teams Complained About Warriors-Cavaliers Finals

Althought NBA commissioner Adam Silver understands the frustration from many toward Kevin Durant's move to the Golden State Warriors, he says the defending champions played by the rulebook when they landed him.

Durant helped the Warriors win their third championship in four years when they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month. It was his second title and in the process, he was also named NBA Finals MVP for the second successive year after averaging 28.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 7.5 assists over the course of the four games.

Many though, feel he in particular played a part in "destroying" the league. Durant joined the Warriors in 2016 from the Oklahoma City Thunder as he drew a lot of scrutiny for not only moving to a side that he could not beat, but also adding to an already stacked super team that had just won 73 regular season games.

After the Warriors were shocked by the Cavaliers in 2016, they have since comfortably won two successive championships with Durant in their ranks, impressively losing just six of their last 33 postseason games.

Silver admits such a move only took place because a spike in the salary cap gave the Warriors space to add him but believes they should be credited for not only playing by the rulebook in signing him but for their overall excellence over the course of the past four years.

"I get it in terms of Kevin Durant going [to the Warriors in 2016]. It was a bit of an aberration in our system; we had a spike in our cap, it enabled them to have additional cap room," Silver said on ESPN Radio's Golic and Wingo show on Wednesday. "The Warriors will tell you they would have figured out a way to get it done anyway."

"I've said repeatedly, let's also celebrate excellence. Ownership, the job Bob Myers has done as a GM, Steve Kerr, of course, one of the great coaches in our league. Steph Curry, drafted; Klay Thompson, drafted; Draymond Green drafted 35th by Golden State Warriors."

Silver is open to change though, as he looks to find better parity within the league. For starters, making it harder to accumulate the talent the Warriors have while discussing with players about the current player-movement system through the league’s current collective bargaining agreement which runs until at least the 2022-23 season. He does add however, that he will not "break up teams" just for the sake of unnatural parity.

"We always — through collective bargaining — can be sitting down with our players association figuring out what’s the best way to design competition throughout this league," he explained. "There's always a next collective bargaining agreement and over the years we've talked about a harder cap than we have now. The NFL has a much harder cap than we do; ours is somewhat soft. Obviously, it allows teams to go significantly above the cap and the tax level and that's the case with both Golden State and Cleveland. They are significantly above where our tax level is right now."

It's not just a problem with the Warriors though, as they've been facing the LeBron James-led Cavaliers for four straight finals. And Silver says it's not only fans who are complaining about the two sides constantly meeting each other but the other teams too.

"The 28 other teams, they're the biggest complainers that these two teams have met four times in a row [in the NBA Finals]," Silver added. "Ultimately, collectively our 30 teams are in charge with what system we have, along with the players. And by the way, the players on 29 other teams want a system regardless of where they are drafted or where they sign to be able to compete for championships, and that's what you want."