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Golden State Warriors gear up for run at Kevin Durant

By The Sports Xchange
Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) goes in for a dunk in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on May 26, 2016. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 120-111. Pool photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/UPI
Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) goes in for a dunk in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on May 26, 2016. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 120-111. Pool photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/UPI | License Photo

The Warriors lost 18 games over the course of the regular season and playoffs but in the end it was one game - the seventh and deciding game of the NBA Finals on Sunday - that shifted Golden State's trajectory.

With the 93-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors fell short of repeating as NBA champions and dampened the glory achieved with a regular-season record 79 victories.

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But owner Joe Lacob is ready to win the offseason, a detour route back to a second title that appears to include courting Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant.

"I will be very aggressive," Lacob said Sunday night in the aftermath of the Game 7 loss.

For Durant's part, he reportedly toured real estate options during a Super Bowl eve visit to the Bay Area and had his mother do the same. Then again, Durant downplayed the housing peeks in the Bay and other areas, including San Antonio.

Durant can be offered a four-year deal or choose to take the higher-risk route with a potential monster reward next summer by opting for a one-year deal with a player option, the route that has helped LeBron James cash $22 million-$25 million annual salaries while maintaining the leverage over the team in the event things head south.

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Durant said this week "I just want to hoop" and implied his decision would be solely about basketball. And winning.

The Warriors can find the financial meets to add Durant even with Klay Thompson and Steph Curry on the roster. But what will that roster look like by the time the dust settles in free agency in July?

Golden State has eight free agents, headlined by starter Harrison Barnes, a restricted free agent.

Next summer is a bigger one with Curry's deal expiring at the same time Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut hit free agency.

The reset of Golden State's core could be massive and instantaneous if Durant picks the Warriors.

It's feasible Curry and Durant would mutually agree to take less salary but next summer the definition of "max contract" changes with labor negotiations that might all but eliminate the idea. For certain, "max" deals will reach a new stratosphere in 2017.

For the lineup the Warriors use, with Draymond Green (who signed a four-year, $73 million deal in July 2015) at center, Durant could be the "stretch four" coach Steve Kerr prefers, requiring defenses to sweat every square inch of the perimeter.

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For now it's only a mirage, but Lacob is determined to win, and that includes July.

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