Mark Cuban Says Warriors Becoming 'The Villain' Good for NBA

The Golden State Warriors are coming off a 73-win season and a second straight trip to the NBA Finals, and they redeemed their blown chance at a repeat by signing superstar Kevin Durant in free agency.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes the Warriors are being vilified—which he argues isn't necessarily a bad thing—and isn't convinced their road to the Finals will be any easier. Cuban spoke about those issues Wednesday, per ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon:

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They become the villain. Just like when LeBron James went to Miami, I loved that there was a villain. They become the villain. I'm fine with that. Everybody's going to root for them to lose.

[...] It's always been tough for superteams to stay super. When you congregate that much talent, one injury destroys the whole thing. They played by the rules, so it is what it is. It has always happened. It's nothing new.

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Cuban's team managed to land a former Warrior in Harrison Barnes on a max deal as a result of Durant fleeing the Oklahoma City Thunder in favor of Golden State.

Deprived of the opportunity to truly prove himself as a franchise cornerstone on the Warriors' star-studded squad, Barnes will have every chance to be just that in Dallas.

The Mavs also got better in the frontcourt by trading for ex-Golden State center Andrew Bogut, who's a willing passer and should help Dallas improve its 104.3 defensive rating, which ranked 16th last season.

With Dirk Nowitzki's career nearing an end, someone has to become the new face of the Mavs.

Although it's unclear whether Barnes is going to be that guy, Dallas paid him like a player it will build around in the years to come.

But between Durant, reigning back-to-back league MVP Stephen Curry, perhaps the most versatile all-around player in the game in Draymond Green and a top-tier 2-guard in Klay Thompson, the Dubs are devastating on paper.

Anyone in the Western Conference will have extreme difficulty surpassing Golden State in the coming years, even taking into account the Warriors' dearth of viable big men, centers and rim protectors at this juncture. Their uptempo style and spacing on offense will be nearly impossible for all foes to defend.