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It's not that hard. Just make huge-ass cap holds for free agents. If Curry has a max hold, then the Warriors have to choose between KD and any semblance of depth. Sure, that doesn't stop guys from taking less to make room, but most players don't want to do that anyway. Increasing the max and the roster charges would also accomplish this.
Let's say for example that the new CBA has 40-percent maxes (for the highest level with 35 and 30 for the next ones), max-salary holds for All-Stars and $1 Million roster charges. Well, the Warriors already have $36 Million against a $108 Million. Durant's hold would be for about $40 Million, while Curry's is for $35 Million. Well that puts GS at $111 Million. Then you add in eight charges and get up to $119 Million. So now, the team is bloated against the cap with only the MLE and LLE.
Now you say to yourself: Well, GS can now sign Durant and Curry, and the MLE and LLE are more than they had this year. They'll be fine. They actually won't be. Durant is a non-Bird FA. So the team can only give him 120 percent of his contract this year. The max GS could offer him is like $32 Million. They'd normally be able to renounce him and use cap space ... but they don't actually have it. With Durant renounced and the roster charge, GS has $80 Million committed against the cap, leaving only $28 Million for KD.
And now you're saying to yourself: Well Durant can just opt in and get even more money with his early Bird rights in 2018. But no. Durant's max actually drops in 2018, as the cap is about six percent lower. So inking a four-year deal in GS would see him lose millions. So he'd have to sign a one-and-one again and really keep the team in limbo for about four years total, still losing money in the process.
