Warriors upstage LeBron once again with Cousins coup

NBA fans had exactly 24 hours and 31 minutes to ruminate on LeBron James' ballyhooed landing in Los Angeles before the Golden State Warriors upstaged him ... again.

James had everyone speculating about his next move as soon as the final buzzer sounded on his farewell season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. His impending decision was a bigger story than Golden State redefining "3-1" as its Finals record against James. It was more notable than Kevin Durant's coronation as an all-time great, it overshadowed a legendary shooting display from Stephen Curry, and the notoriously nitpicked King was even forgiven for being swept out of The Finals after fracturing his hand by punching a whiteboard out of frustration.

Everything was put aside because the possible greatest player of all time was about to embark on the last act of his career, and he was going to do it while playing for the most hallowed franchise in basketball. James in Los Angeles was destined to become the story of the season.

But the Warriors upstaged him the very next day, knocking James back in the news cycle with an unthinkable coup for DeMarcus Cousins. While everyone was busy making jokes about Lance Stephenson awkwardly making amends, or solving the schematics of how a non-shooter in Rajon Rondo fits alongside James, the Warriors had a four-time All-Star center fall into their lap.

Even though it's far from a slam dunk, Cousins' stunning signing set the NBA world ablaze with outrage, and rightfully so, because what exactly is the point of playing out the 2018-19 season? The Warriors will inevitably win their fourth ring in five seasons by fielding an in-prime All-Star at every position. Even exasperated rival players pre-emptively and publicly kissed the ring in order to have a laugh on Twitter, because it was just that unfair.

Golden State added a 25-point, 13-rebound, five-assist center after sweeping The Finals. Meanwhile, James will spend the season replaying the "pointing at J.R. Smith" meme on "Shaqtin' a Fool" while Warriors castoff JaVale McGee inevitably bungles exquisite lob passes. The truth is much crueler than fiction ever could be.

With or without an expensive trade for Kawhi Leonard, there will be no hope for James to win his fourth ring in 2019. The intoxicating confluence of his 16-year-long coronation with Lakers exceptionalism set in the media capital of the world will become the spectacle of all spectacles, but Los Angeles will be flash, not substance. James is powerless against the super superteam.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

James understands Golden State's destiny better than anyone, which is why he chose the perks of L.A. over hopelessly chasing a ring elsewhere. He was forced to surrender after the Warriors beat him at his own game.

The emergence of an impregnable Golden State squad took titles out of the immediate equation, and so what was the point of moving his family to unfamiliar locales in Houston or Philadelphia? There are only so many times James can be celebrated for failing valiantly before it gets old, so why not move into his $23-million Brentwood mansion and situate his oldest son in the hotbed of high school basketball to facilitate his growth, while also getting a head start on expanding his media empire?

It was only two years ago when James had the world at his feet. He boldly declared he was chasing "the ghost" in Chicago after pulling off the most improbable comeback in NBA history. He finally moved past the point of proving his greatness and was merely running up the score with more rings. He commanded his own narrative, and won control over the league in the process.

But that brief high following the magical comeback in 2016 only gave the illusion of control, because James couldn't foresee how the Warriors would end up beating him at his own game.

He couldn't anticipate that Durant could join the Warriors without sacrificing their core since a new TV deal caused the salary cap to jump $30 million in one summer. He didn't know Curry would be the second coming of Tim Duncan: the selfless superstar that shared the glory to allow four stars to co-exist. He certainly couldn't forecast that a frustrated and injured Cousins would settle for just $5.3 million after being snubbed by all other suitors. James grew up in a league where circumstances worked against him, so it must have been inconceivable to him that the Warriors could catch so many breaks.

He'll be celebrated as a pioneer in redefining player control, but James will also inevitably fall victim to his own creation. He bloodied his reputation by breaking the mold for everyone else, and his cruel Darwinian reward is to be buried in a coffin he built.

James concocted the Big Three using teammates from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which served as the inspiration for what Golden State built. Curry and Andre Iguodala befriended Durant during the 2010 FIBA World Championships, and those experiences sealed their recruitment pitch in 2016. That same summer, it was Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson ingratiating themselves with Cousins in Rio de Janeiro, and now those six players form a team that could rival the rest of Team USA.

The Warriors intercepted the future that James thought he inherited. He saw an opening in 2010, when two aging giants in the Lakers and Celtics were ready to fall, and he took his chance. It didn't work out right away, but James got two titles in Miami before age caught up with his own contender. In 2014, his main opponents were an old foe in San Antonio and a collection of perpetually underperforming stars in Oklahoma City. They were formidable but not insurmountable in the slightest so long as James played his cards right in his return to Cleveland.

Flanked by the top scoring point guard and power forward in their primes, James and the Cavaliers were set to win enough titles to propel him into the same conversation as Michael Jordan. But he didn't foresee Golden State upstaging him by becoming so powerful that his final prime seasons were rendered irrelevant in the title race. And just to twist the knife, the Warriors beat James at his own game.