KD comments after Golden State

[HiRez]

“I came in there wanting to be part of a group, wanting to be part of a family, and definitely felt accepted," said Durant. "But I’ll never be one of those guys. I didn’t get drafted there.… Steph Curry, obviously drafted there. Andre Iguodala, won the first Finals, first championship. Klay Thompson, drafted there. Draymond Green, drafted there. And the rest of the guys kind of rehabilitated their careers there. So me? S–t, how you going to rehabilitate me? What you going to teach me? How can you alter anything in my basketball life? I got an MVP already. I got scoring titles.

“As time went on, I started to realize I’m just different from the rest of the guys. It’s not a bad thing. Just my circumstances and how I came up in the league. And on top of that, the media always looked at it like KD and the Warriors. So it’s like nobody could get a full acceptance of me there.”

So this is pretty interesting to hear him say it flat out, although not surprising because it's what I think many people (including myself) were thinking, even before he started playing here. Now we got confirmation. At first I got a little angry with him, but on reflection it seems it was just trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. He doesn't seem bitter about it. They got the job done in any case.

"The motion offense we run in Golden State, it only works to a certain point," Durant said to the Wall Street Journal's J.R. Moehringer. "We can totally rely on our system for maybe the first two rounds. Then the next two rounds we're going to have to mix in individual play. We've got to throw teams off, because they're smarter in that round of playoffs.

"So now I have to dive into my bag, deep, to create stuff on my own, off the dribble, isos, pick-and-rolls, more so than let the offense create points for me."

I think this is really a side effect of him being that iso player, the difficulty of him trying to conform to a system, made more difficult by his ego and veteran status (I don't mean that in a bad way, just that how he plays the game were set and he's a superstar so probably rightfully thought any system should cater a bit more to him than the other way around).

I am really looking forward to unleashing "the system" again and letting Steph once again be the focus of it all.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/kevin-durant-rips-warriors-coach-153057864.html

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/255345/Kevin-Durant-I-Started-To-Realize-Im-Just-Different-From-Rest-Of-Warriors

[andrewww]

Kd cares about what idiots say on social media about him..that much is clear. In doing so he essentially empowered these low lives to dictate his own happiness...if Steph accepts you for who you are and those close to him...thats the only thing and opinions that should matter..sure everyone wants to be loved but he just needed to stay true to himself..best of luck to his future.

[Jedzz]

I am really looking forward to unleashing "the system" again and letting Steph once again be the focus of it all.

I am looking forward to seeing those types of Warriors games again as well. When I'm forced to watch Warriors that is. Everyone on the team looks pretty special when it's clicking.

[CalGTR]

Basically, KD never wanted to fit in. He SAID he wanted to fit in, and maybe THOUGHT he wanted to fit in, but he never really did. If his attitude is one of "nothing to teach me" and so forth, he never would have bought into the Warrior's team mindset. It's a mindset that has allowed Curry to flourish and win MVPs and multiple titles, but KD isn't able to subjugate his game to the Warrior's system. He was a great player for the Warriors, and I'll always appreciate the time he spent with our squad, but he wouldn't allow himself to truly buy-in. As for the fans, all KD had to do was sign a longer-term contract and he would have been embraced just as warmly as the rest of the squad. By only signing year-to-year, he always seemed like a short-time mercenary - which is what he turned out to be by his own choice.

Hope he finds happiness, but I'm not sure he's got the right recipe for getting it done.

[Samurai]

KD also has a different lifestyle; he's a single guy. Andre is married with 2 kids. Steph is married with 3 kids; both Steph and Andre have been fairly outspoken about the importance of their Christian faith. Dray has a son with his girlfriend. Klay has Rocco and seems to march to his own beat. So if KD wants to hang out and do what single guys do, Steph, Dray and Andre have different responsibilities. Nothing wrong with that, but most single guys don't feel they can relate to what parents are dealing with outside of their work life.

[Flash Falcon X]

I actually see where KD is coming from, and as I fan I’ve thought of that during the past 3 years he was here.

He thought winning would ultimately cure everything, but even though he was winning he never felt like he belonged even after 3 years. Steph, Klay, Draymond and Iggy’s camaraderie was so strong—they’ve been through so much together for years before KD came along. They were an upstart team from 2013 onward and built so much together and had their fair share of losses before the success came. KD really was an outsider.

And as for the fit. I don’t think it’s that they hit their “ceiling” as KD said. It’s more like each player had a restriction that held them back from being their best individually. For example, Steph was starting to get used to getting a 50 point game every other night and having godly games in 2015 and 2016; Draymond was starting to become a triple double machine. Both those guys had to take a step back in order to let KD come in and be a part of the offense. Meanwhile, KD had to take a step back as well. He loves to score and play isolations, but within the offense he had to hold back from that in order to let other guys touch the ball.

I think that’s why he envisions fun times playing with Kyrie. Kyrie loves ISO’s also. Both KD and Kyrie can take turns with their isolation plays, whereas in GSW he didn’t get to show off his flashy skill set and was regulated to a tall shooter with the occasional iso.

That said, I’m excited for the upcoming year. Going back to my whole “ceiling” comment, we get to see Steph with the green light again. No more holding back. Especially since Klay is out, and now Steph has D’Lo handling the ball while Steph gets to play off-ball and get open shots. Draymond will also go back to being a triple double machine since he’s the only forward who can initiate an offense now.

[Scoots1994]

I was saying it during the year ... the best thing the Warriors and Warriors fans and Warriors beat writers could have done for KD was just not talk about him.

Funny, that's what I said about Trump 3+ years ago ... nobody has listened to that yet either.

[sya]

KD is an idiot so some of the things he said or commented
- Bashing Kerr's motion offense that it doesn't work in playoffs
it is true that in playoffs, individual play isolation play esp in closing minutes is critical. But why is he bashing the same offense that beat him and OKC before his GSW career? Isn't this the same guy who said he joined GSW because they play beautiful unselfish basketball? which was an obvious knock on OKC's iso heavy offense and RWB? Media never accepted him as the best player in the world because he was playing in GSW, so now he prefers to go back to getting more isolations to flash himself and get individual glory.
- Never felt part of the team
WHole team including the 2 best players Curry and Klay went out of their way to make him the main man, even calling him best player on the team several times. What more does he want? This was always going to be Curry's team and he should've known that from the start. Why is he blaming gsw for this when it was the media that made a big deal out of this?

What an idiot. good riddance. Even if he had 2 finals MVPs, KD needed gsw more than GSW needed him. He won 2 titles with them and now he bashes them after all they did for him?

[Mylie10]

I am really looking forward to unleashing "the system" again and letting Steph once again be the focus of it all.

I am looking forward to seeing those types of Warriors games again as well. When I'm forced to watch Warriors that is. Everyone on the team looks pretty special when it's clicking.

Yeah that's great.....but KD is right that there comes a time where the system isn't enough. Whether it's facing a great opponent, or when system plays break down, you have to resort to guys making shots and plays as the clock is winding down.

It seems like D Russell is young enough that he will embrace the "system"....but it's also good that he has the ability to get his shots and get shots for others when the time calls for it. (I'm not saying Russell is anywhere close to KD by the way)

I just don't anticipate Russell complaining, or giving reflection interviews like KD is about system and some of these other things.

KD had to understand at some point, by never fully committing to the Warriors, the fans were never going to fully commit to him.

[Coxy]

KD had to understand at some point, by never fully committing to the Warriors, the fans were never going to fully commit to him.

Bingo.

Whatever KD, good luck in Brooklyn.

[Kuya]

such a puto lol

[Money_]

Great basketball player.
His fragile ego and sensitive emotions will never allow him to be a champion again.
At least not with DJ and Kyrie...

[KevinMcreynolds]

I don't think anything he said was that bad tbh. I agree with Mylie though, he was never fully committed so naturally he wasn't fully embraced. He also never seemed to grasp that Steph, Klay and Dray were here for 9-10 years and he had been here for 3, so it would take time for him to get to their level with the fans. I don't know, I think it has become obvious that parting ways was a good thing for both parties. His time here was great for us, we got 2 more rings, but I bet he wishes he would have just stayed with OKC.

[likemycurryhot]

It’s so bizarre that he got to do what he wanted, ended up with multiple championships, multiple MVPs yet still felt deeply unhappy. KD has a habit of directly contradicting things he’s said before, as Sya points out. He also seems to have issues creating lasting bonds, even on a team where he’d spent close to a decade. He just seems to carry a cloud around with him wherever he goes.

Even with all his talent on the court he’s a hard dude to root for but appreciate everything that he brought to GS and hope he makes a full recovery.

[azwfan]

It’s so bizarre that he got to do what he wanted, ended up with multiple championships, multiple MVPs yet still felt deeply unhappy. KD has a habit of directly contradicting things he’s said before, as Sya points out. He also seems to have issues creating lasting bonds, even on a team where he’d spent close to a decade. He just seems to carry a cloud around with him wherever he goes.

Even with all his talent on the court he’s a hard dude to root for but appreciate everything that he brought to GS and hope he makes a full recovery.

Yeah, he came to GSW and helped win us 2 titles. It was a lot of fun. He also put his body on the line in an attempt to win us another. From that standpoint I have the utmost respect for the dude.

I'm sure he is happy to a degree. But looking for more. Nothing wrong with that.

Regarding contradicting himself... he may just say what he thinks as he's thinking it. I most of the time my initial thoughts are not the same upon reflection and additional information - but nobody gives a crud what i think. He may just see himself as a normal dude and find it bizarre that so many get so wrapped up in what he's saying. I know i do. Either way, wish him the best of luck moving forward unless he's playing the us.

[Jester_]

By far the most fragile ego I can remember seeing in the NBA... complete manchild

[Coxy]

By far the most fragile ego I can remember seeing in the NBA... complete manchild

Honestly though, there is nothing wrong with being sensitive, being fragile, especially in a really harsh and unforgiving world. If he learned to embrace the sensitive side of himself, and just play beasketball, then the fans ad media wouldn't be so haevy on him. It's when he tries to play the cold ego type that he comes unstuck.

Within his fragile way, he needs to learn humility. The way he left OKC hurt a lot of people in that org, and when he returned, they turned the cold shoulder at him. He needed to shift his mind set there, instead of being, "Screw them if they arent going to talk to him, I did nothing wrong", to understanding he hurt a lot of people there and go with "I'm so sorry for leaving the way I did, I understand I hurt people there that helped me become the man that I am, I hope I can win their forgiveness one day and they can understand my need to leave and grow as a man trying to find his way", everyone would understand him more.

He just needs a shift of mindset to gratitude and humblness. I believe it's in there and his insecurities as a person in the face of the media and fan backlash have ignited an ugly side in him that is manifesting in a pretty self destructive way.

On the other hand, he'll have a fascinating book to write one day, full of emotion, and perhaps admitting what I have suspected all along, that KD is in fact a gay man trying to forge his way through a very tough sport, fan and media circus.

[Money_]

Dude entered the league on one of the coolest team's in the NBA, Seattle Super Sonics... Great city, great fans, great uni's..
Team gets sold, and he's sent off to OKC.... That couldn't have been easy.
He handled that, and put together some very deep playoff experience there, no chip but close several times.

Now he wants to play with the other big boys because it looks like fun.. Hell yeah it is, come play with your boys at GSW.
Then he suddenly cannot fathom how he might learn and grow, change his game a bit, adapt to a system.
He couldn't possibly learn a bit about basketball from Steve Kerr?
From playing with Steph, Klay, Dray and Andre? "I'm Kevin Durant" gt th fa outta here..
"I'm not accepted by the fans."
All he had to do was sign a multi year contract and this fan base would have said brother, welcome home.

I thank him for the three years he played his *** off for GSW. And I wish him luck.
I don't think he will see the kind of success he had at GSW again. Nor the wealth of talent.

[Jester_]

By far the most fragile ego I can remember seeing in the NBA... complete manchild

Honestly though, there is nothing wrong with being sensitive, being fragile, especially in a really harsh and unforgiving world. If he learned to embrace the sensitive side of himself, and just play beasketball, then the fans ad media wouldn't be so haevy on him. It's when he tries to play the cold ego type that he comes unstuck.

Within his fragile way, he needs to learn humility. The way he left OKC hurt a lot of people in that org, and when he returned, they turned the cold shoulder at him. He needed to shift his mind set there, instead of being, "Screw them if they arent going to talk to him, I did nothing wrong", to understanding he hurt a lot of people there and go with "I'm so sorry for leaving the way I did, I understand I hurt people there that helped me become the man that I am, I hope I can win their forgiveness one day and they can understand my need to leave and grow as a man trying to find his way", everyone would understand him more.

He just needs a shift of mindset to gratitude and humblness. I believe it's in there and his insecurities as a person in the face of the media and fan backlash have ignited an ugly side in him that is manifesting in a pretty self destructive way.

On the other hand, he'll have a fascinating book to write one day, full of emotion, and perhaps admitting what I have suspected all along, that KD is in fact a gay man trying to forge his way through a very tough sport, fan and media circus.

KD is the weird case who seemingly went the wrong direction - starting from backpack KD who embodied that humble, sensitive character that everybody loved to insecure not-nice man child.

Past the 30 year and $300 million mark I have a hard time feeling sorry for people like that. Unless, of course, your latter theory is true - which would explain a LOT.

[Bayside]

I remember when he first came to the league. I really liked him. Seemed humble, quiet. And honestly a real mamas boy. Remember seeing his mom at games and how close they were. I was like , well there is a modest humble player not playing up to the part -looking for the spot light.

Now i just think he is clinically depressed or something. It was brought up before maybe in the closet? Who knows. I do agree that his short contracts contributed to the hired gun sentiment and he separated himself from the core. He had 1 foot out the door. Best of luck to the Nets, I think they are hosed. I think resigning him would have been a bad deal and getting DLo back was the best case scenario.

Molly would fix this ?