Kevin Durant dropped a bombshell on Independence Day, and you can call it whatever you want. He took the easy way out. He showed weakness. He is a coward. He has joined the enemy. But the fact remains that Durant is no longer a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Golden State Warriors will be a formidable team next year.

They won 73 games and came one victory away from consecutive titles, and they have added one of the best players in the world to their roster. They were already the greatest shooting team of all time, and they now have the opportunity to field a squad with dynastic potential.

Will the Cleveland Cavaliers make a blockbuster move to match this? The only thing that comes to mind is signing Dwyane Wade to the midlevel exception, but it is hard to imagine him pursuing that option. The Miami Heat may be lowballing him; however, they aren’t doing it to that degree. Wade would definitely enjoy taking a little bit of the shine off of Golden State, though, and so you can’t rule out a reunion between him and LeBron James.

The bottom line is that Cleveland has some work to do. If they want to defend their title, then they must scramble to match the Warriors. The Cavaliers can’t try adding shooters, though. They’ll have to beat Golden State with superior size and athleticism. The Warriors won’t face any team next season with better shooting than them, and it would be a mistake to attempt equaling them in that regard.

The way you defeat Golden State is on the boards, and the Cavaliers must find a replacement for Timofey Mozgov as a result. They have to keep Kevin Love now, because the only players it would be worth trading him for are Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin. Both of those guys are worse at rebounding and posting up than Love is, and those are the skills Cleveland will require from their stars next year.

The Cavaliers will need a herculean effort in the coming season to have any hope of repeating as champions, because Durant just shifted the balance of power firmly in Golden State’s direction.