Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors has been the story of the summer thus far, and for good reason. Durant didn’t simply leave one Western Conference power for another; he altered the landscape of the entire NBA. His decision will have a vast effect on the league over both the short and long-term.

Whether or not anyone will be able to truly compete with the Warriors, who have represented the West in the past two NBA Finals, may dominate basketball conversations over the short-term, but the inability of the Oklahoma City Thunder to re-sign Durant is what scares a majority of the league.

The new economic structure of the NBA -- coupled with Stephen Curry’s incredibly team-friendly contract -- allowed Durant to sign with the Warriors. We’ve known since the NBA agreed to extended TV deals with ESPN and TNT nearly two years ago that the cap would reach historic heights without some sort of smoothing. There was no reason for active players, especially those in their primes and nearing the end of their contracts, to agree to a gradual increase. Without a sudden spike, how would Ryan Anderson and Timofey Mozgov have gotten a combined $144 million?

The NBA isn’t going to complain about a $24 billion TV deal, so they’ll live with the Andersons of the world landing nearly nine figures. What they may not be able to live with, however, is a trend of superstars leaving near-perfect situations to play elsewhere.

Sam Presti and the Thunder did everything humanly possible to ensure Durant would, and could, spend his entire career with the franchise. They hit on draft picks, excelled at player development, successfully replaced Scott Brooks with Billy Donovan, made aggressive but calculated moves and perhaps most importantly, gave him a chance to win.

The CBA also provided the Thunder with Durant’s Bird Rights, giving them the ability to go over the salary cap to re-sign the 2014 Most Valuable Player. That financial advantage, once a concrete reason for most players staying put, all but evaporated with not only the cap surge but also the growing popularity of the one-plus-one contract that LeBron James has favored in recent years.

Owners will want to see more incentives provided to players that re-sign with their incumbent teams in the next CBA, but for now there are quite a few concerned fan bases around the league clinging to their superstars as their own free agency nears.

The Indiana Pacers signed Paul George to a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension nearly three years ago, signing him through the 2018-19 season. Less than a month after the deal kicked in, George broke his leg during an exhibition with Team USA and what would become a bargain contract briefly looked like a disaster.

Despite concerns that he might never be the same dominant two-way player again, George rebounded with this past season after essentially missing a year of action. By all accounts, he feels great and one could argue that 15-16 was his best season yet. At 26, he’s already a three-time All-Star, a three-time member of the All-NBA Third Team and will win a gold medal with Team USA in Rio in the coming weeks. 

You could also argue that he’s already the best player in Pacers history, a more complete player and better in his prime than Reggie Miller was, only lacking the sustained success he showed over 18 seasons. It makes sense to have concern about what the future holds for George. 

There were some conversation on social media -- not surprisingly following Durant’s decision -- about the Pacers re-doing George’s contract this fall with whatever cap space they have left over from this summer. The Houston Rockets used a clause in the CBA that allowed them to re-do James Harden’s five-year, $74 million contract extension, originally signed in 2013, after Year 3. Houston used $10 million in cap space to increase Harden’s salary over the next two years and then add two additional years to the original contract. 

The major roadblock between Paul George and an extended deal with the Pacers is his experience, or lack thereof. He has six seasons under his belt, so he’s only eligible for the 0-6 max for next season and Indiana could only renegotiate his deal using current cap space over the next three seasons of which he’s already under contract. Harden, drafted one year before George, is in an entirely different max bracket.

George will have seven years of service under his belt next July and will be able to receive the 7-9 max (the rules/figures under which Harden currently falls) under a salary cap that is expected to increase once again. 

Perhaps even more concerning for the Pacers is that the final year of George’s current deal is a player option. That leaves open the possibility that he could leave in less than two years. He can make $20.7 million for 18-19, which will look like an incredible bargain when you consider that Kent Bazemore, Luol Deng and Evan Turner will all make more than $18 million that season. 

It’s highly unlikely George would agree to such a deal, leaving millions and millions on the table, but if the Pacers really wanted to add to his contract they could. Indiana can increase his salary over the next three years while also signing him to a one-year extension contingent on him opting in for the final year of his current deal. That would keep him under contract through 2020 at a rate of more than $22 million. 

Those clamoring for as many years of George in blue and gold as possible should rest assured that not much can be done right now. Even if George were fully committed to the Pacers, it would be foolish for him to do anything over the next two months. As he inches closer to the end of his contract, the likelihood of a new longer-term (and much more expensive) deal becomes more likely. 

Until then, there will be some level of paranoia. If Durant can leave Oklahoma City, George could easily leave Indiana. There are also images of George chortling with his fellow members of Team USA, a link between the NBA’s star players that helped bring Durant to Golden State, but the Pacers aren’t in a terrible position.

The NBA figures to have a different economic structure around the time George can become an unrestricted free agent, which means Indiana’s competition may not be able to come close to what the Pacers can offer financially (new CBA notwithstanding). That doesn’t mean George won’t be taking meetings a few summers from now, but if nothing else the Pacers have time to plan for the possibility.