Kevin Durant: I Took Less Money To Keep Team Together

[Sam195]

He is making way more off the court in San Francisco/Silicon Valley than he has any other point in his life - he has too much money so why not leave some on the table and win more to improve his legacy and future marketing potential. He is likely going to keep taking discounts until the year he turns 33 than he will ink the largest contract in nba history at that point after a few rings that pays him till age 38. The over-38 rule cuts contracts at that point.

Kevin Durant is probably the best player in the league right now.

Kevin Durant is also a "soulless" piece of nothing that tainted his character.

Kevin Durant is not a man. He is a child in a man's body. But, yes, i will say it again, Kevin Durant is currently the best player in the league.

That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while. Thanks for the laugh.

Its all about race - if he was white it would be a non-story like in the nhl when the Minnesota Wild created a super team with Zach Parise, Ryan Sutter and Thomas Vanek. Case in point they stinked and didn't win a stanley cup but it was three guys who left small market teams to play in one of the larger us markets for hockey - Minnesota is the u.s capital of hockey. GSW are the u.s capital for basketball as long as the lakers stink.

[2011Champs]

Big difference Durant. Dirk and Duncan sacrificed money to improve THEIR team.

They didn't jump ship and take less money to have an easy road to the championship on some other team. Durant could make this argument had he taken less money to build a team in OKC around Westbrook and himself but he took the easy route instead.

[wizkid27]

Kevin Durant is probably the best player in the league right now.

Kevin Durant is also a "soulless" piece of nothing that tainted his character.

Kevin Durant is not a man. He is a child in a man's body. But, yes, i will say it again, Kevin Durant is currently the best player in the league.

That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while. Thanks for the laugh.

Its all about race - if he was white it would be a non-story like in the nhl when the Minnesota Wild created a super team with Zach Parise, Ryan Sutter and Thomas Vanek. Case in point they stinked and didn't win a stanley cup but it was three guys who left small market teams to play in one of the larger us markets for hockey - Minnesota is the u.s capital of hockey. GSW are the u.s capital for basketball as long as the lakers stink.

Lol race? It is only because they are extremely dominant and people don't like to see that. People like to see their team having a chance. Or at least multiple teams having a chance. That's all.

[boston_fan_ct]

I respect him for not being a scum sucking ego maniac greedy pig. on the other hand, am I supposed to think ONLY making 25 million dollars a year is some sort of hardship? I am confused.

[Hoopzilla]

Big difference Durant. Dirk and Duncan sacrificed money to improve THEIR team.

They didn't jump ship and take less money to have an easy road to the championship on some other team. Durant could make this argument had he taken less money to build a team in OKC around Westbrook and himself but he took the easy route instead.

I guess you hold it against him because he wasn't drafted to the team he took less money for. OKC would have loved for Durant to take a discount, so they could save money. Like when they let Harden go, Ibaka go, Jackson go, etc.. They proved over and over, year after year, that they weren't going to spend the money to get them over the top. He didn't take the easy route, he came to terms with the fact that OKC lets talent walk rather than spend and compete for a title for 4-5 years. Durant made the logical move anyone with a bit of common sense would have done as well, if they seriously wanted to compete for titles.

[xBulletproof]

Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back there Olive Oyl.

[spree2kawhi]

Big difference Durant. Dirk and Duncan sacrificed money to improve THEIR team.

They didn't jump ship and take less money to have an easy road to the championship on some other team. Durant could make this argument had he taken less money to build a team in OKC around Westbrook and himself but he took the easy route instead.

I guess you hold it against him because he wasn't drafted to the team he took less money for. OKC would have loved for Durant to take a discount, so they could save money. Like when they let Harden go, Ibaka go, Jackson go, etc.. They proved over and over, year after year, that they weren't going to spend the money to get them over the top. He didn't take the easy route, he came to terms with the fact that OKC lets talent walk rather than spend and compete for a title for 4-5 years. Durant made the logical move anyone with a bit of common sense would have done as well, if they seriously wanted to compete for titles.

This should really have become common sense by now.

[spree2kawhi]

Big difference Durant. Dirk and Duncan sacrificed money to improve THEIR team.

They didn't jump ship and take less money to have an easy road to the championship on some other team. Durant could make this argument had he taken less money to build a team in OKC around Westbrook and himself but he took the easy route instead.

You sound like she left you for another man.

[dice]

Big difference Durant. Dirk and Duncan sacrificed money to improve THEIR team.

They didn't jump ship and take less money to have an easy road to the championship on some other team. Durant could make this argument had he taken less money to build a team in OKC around Westbrook and himself but he took the easy route instead.

I guess you hold it against him because he wasn't drafted to the team he took less money for. OKC would have loved for Durant to take a discount, so they could save money. Like when they let Harden go, Ibaka go, Jackson go, etc.. They proved over and over, year after year, that they weren't going to spend the money to get them over the top. He didn't take the easy route, he came to terms with the fact that OKC lets talent walk rather than spend and compete for a title for 4-5 years. Durant made the logical move anyone with a bit of common sense would have done as well, if they seriously wanted to compete for titles.

This should really have become common sense by now.

aaaaaand, once again, "common sense" is not true. the warriors and thunder have had similar team salaries in the past and continue to now. that's right...OKC is paying a whoooooole lotta money for a whole lot less talent

money was not the issue. not paying superstar money for a super-sub that wasn't a great fit (ball-dominant harden) wasn't the issue. ball-dominant chucker extraordinaire russell westbrook was the issue

and durant WAS seriously competing for titles. he just wasn't winning them

[fansinceforever]

This is a cool move but I just really don't like the guy. The fact that he actually believes that he's the best player in basketball now because he won with TEAM USA basically is absurd.

[fansinceforever]

I guess you hold it against him because he wasn't drafted to the team he took less money for. OKC would have loved for Durant to take a discount, so they could save money. Like when they let Harden go, Ibaka go, Jackson go, etc.. They proved over and over, year after year, that they weren't going to spend the money to get them over the top. He didn't take the easy route, he came to terms with the fact that OKC lets talent walk rather than spend and compete for a title for 4-5 years. Durant made the logical move anyone with a bit of common sense would have done as well, if they seriously wanted to compete for titles.

This should really have become common sense by now.

aaaaaand, once again, "common sense" is not true. the warriors and thunder have had similar team salaries in the past and continue to now. that's right...OKC is paying a whoooooole lotta money for a whole lot less talent

money was not the issue. not paying superstar money for a super-sub that wasn't a great fit (ball-dominant harden) wasn't the issue. ball-dominant chucker extraordinaire russell westbrook was the issue

and durant WAS seriously competing for titles. he just wasn't winning them

Exactly.

[dice]

This is a cool move but I just really don't like the guy. The fact that he actually believes that he's the best player in basketball now because he won with TEAM USA basically is absurd.

if he thinks he's the best player then wouldn't he have to be the best player ON team usa? and wouldn't the best player on team usa have good reason to believe he was the best in the world?

any top player would probably think they were the best. this guy actually has a CASE. that's far from absurd

[fansinceforever]

This is a cool move but I just really don't like the guy. The fact that he actually believes that he's the best player in basketball now because he won with TEAM USA basically is absurd.

if he thinks he's the best player then wouldn't he have to be the best player ON team usa? and wouldn't the best player on team usa have good reason to believe he was the best in the world?

any top player would probably think they were the best. this guy actually has a CASE. that's far from absurd

He's not. And no one other than irrational LeBron haters, Bay area residents and skip Bayless say so.

Do you believe Durant with the cavs rosters wins championship in '16 or even competes last year? You'll say yes but you know that's not true.

This is coming from an enormous Bucks fan, BTW. I have literally no stake in the game. I also live in San Francisco and like the Warriors. He's a great player though.

[Sam195]

This should really have become common sense by now.

aaaaaand, once again, "common sense" is not true. the warriors and thunder have had similar team salaries in the past and continue to now. that's right...OKC is paying a whoooooole lotta money for a whole lot less talent

money was not the issue. not paying superstar money for a super-sub that wasn't a great fit (ball-dominant harden) wasn't the issue. ball-dominant chucker extraordinaire russell westbrook was the issue

and durant WAS seriously competing for titles. he just wasn't winning them

Exactly.

Westbrook and Durant both took discounts when they were with the Thunder - they both negotiated 5 year contract extensions off their rookie deals with no opt outs. A firm 5 year commitment each. Had both had opt outs they would be guaranteed large raises on that season's salary just based on the cap going up. Also Westbrook forfeited his Rose Rule Bonus to help Thunder avoid the luxury tax - which is likely the reason they chose to let Dion waiters walk after KD so they could use the added cap space to renegotiate a max extension with Westbrook to pay him money he left on the table earlier in his career. Ibaka also took a discount from the max extension he was entitled to at the time. Harden's camp was apparently only willing to take a 15% discount on his salary but wanted a 15% trade kicker and I guess the Thunder thought their offer at the time was already too much and just traded him to rockets beforehand.

[dice]

This is a cool move but I just really don't like the guy. The fact that he actually believes that he's the best player in basketball now because he won with TEAM USA basically is absurd.

if he thinks he's the best player then wouldn't he have to be the best player ON team usa? and wouldn't the best player on team usa have good reason to believe he was the best in the world?

any top player would probably think they were the best. this guy actually has a CASE. that's far from absurd

He's not. And no one other than irrational LeBron haters, Bay area residents and skip Bayless say so.

Do you believe Durant with the cavs rosters wins championship in '16 or even competes last year? You'll say yes but you know that's not true.

2 things have to happen in order for the cavs to win the title in 2016 w/ durant: he has to have a solid game in game 5 of the finals (lebron was great but didn't need to be - won by 15, went up double digits w/ 6 minutes left and never looked back). and he has to have a good game in game 7 (lebron wasn't making shots but had a good all-around game). i don't think anything else plays out materially differently on the season. so would durant have won a title? no idea. i'll lean no

this is a year later. and the cavs were not a great team this past season. their one and only notable accomplishment was thrashing the celtics in the ECF. and yes, they most certainly would have done that w/ durant in lebron's place. the celtics couldn't stop anybody on the team. it was freakish

durant arguably outplayed lebron in the finals head-to-head. they put up comparable numbers on the season. durant improved his game all around. he most certainly has an ARGUMENT that he is now the best player. and lebron will be a year older this coming season while durant will still be in his prime. maybe the finals were when the torch was passed

[The Real Dalic]

if he thinks he's the best player then wouldn't he have to be the best player ON team usa? and wouldn't the best player on team usa have good reason to believe he was the best in the world?

any top player would probably think they were the best. this guy actually has a CASE. that's far from absurd

He's not. And no one other than irrational LeBron haters, Bay area residents and skip Bayless say so.

Do you believe Durant with the cavs rosters wins championship in '16 or even competes last year? You'll say yes but you know that's not true.

2 things have to happen in order for the cavs to win the title in 2016 w/ durant: he has to have a solid game in game 5 of the finals (lebron was great but didn't need to be - won by 15, went up double digits w/ 6 minutes left and never looked back). and he has to have a good game in game 7 (lebron wasn't making shots but had a good all-around game). i don't think anything else plays out materially differently on the season. so would durant have won a title? no idea. i'll lean no

this is a year later. and the cavs were not a great team this past season. their one and only notable accomplishment was thrashing the celtics in the ECF. and yes, they most certainly would have done that w/ durant in lebron's place. the celtics couldn't stop anybody on the team. it was freakish

durant arguably outplayed lebron in the finals head-to-head. they put up comparable numbers on the season. durant improved his game all around. he most certainly has an ARGUMENT that he is now the best player. and lebron will be a year older this coming season while durant will still be in his prime. maybe the finals were when the torch was passed

While I've firmly believed that Durant was the best player since his MVP season, it's easy to say he beat LeBron in the Finals due to all the attention that Curry, Green (for some reason teams don't just play this average at best offensive player one-on-one instead of doubling,) and Klay get. Durant had wide open spaces to do whatever he wanted. LeBron only had Kyrie to take attention away from him.

[2011Champs]

Big difference Durant. Dirk and Duncan sacrificed money to improve THEIR team.

They didn't jump ship and take less money to have an easy road to the championship on some other team. Durant could make this argument had he taken less money to build a team in OKC around Westbrook and himself but he took the easy route instead.

You sound like she left you for another man.

Weird comment? Huh?

I have no vested interest in either OKC or GSW. I'd simply prefer a league with more rivalry and the superfriends superteam era is preventing that. Durant is completely within his right to sign with GSW and for less money but it's my opinion that he took the easy road to a championship. He simply piggybacked on to the team that was already the best team in the NBA.

[CobraCommander]

Funny how that very important little tidbit gets lost in all "took less" hot takes and headlines.

Dark Faze is right - its Millionaires saving money for Billionaires. Durant isn't looking at the big picture...he is looking at the smallest picture there is.

If Durant gets 10 rings and he retires a Warrior they will build him a statue and SELL THE TEAM for Infinintely more than it was worth as a result of those ten rings. And when Durants grandkids come to see GSWarrior games they will charge them for tickets and give them the seats they PAID FOR.

Meanwhile down the road the children of Jordan, Johnson and James will own teams and thier grandkids will reign as Billionaires because their granddad saw the big picture.

The owners dont need your money Durant- You DO. You think 100 million is a lot but if you play your cards right you have access to billions and when you retire James Dolan can kick you out your seats (ask Oak) and there isnt anything anyone can do for you...because he OWNs the team.

Durant doesnt get it... he got a bag full of checkers. Jordan is the Goat, Magic is number 2 and Lebron is clearly number 3...not on the court but at the bank. They didnt do that by giving anything back...ever. Its always Business...ALWAYS.

NBA players are on the cusp of being owners...but Durant doesnt see the big picture. Hmmmm 200 million contracts for players...where teams are worth 1billion- how quickly can a few of these guys team up and buy a team. While Durant is trading Rings for Ownership shares (what a joke)... Wake up Durant and join capitalistic america and remember the wise words of Jesse Owens- "I cant eat 4 gold medals"


Btw...if the GSW want 10 rings...they can afford to pay everyone!

paying boatloads of luxury tax cannot simply be written off by winning. that's not how the business of owning an nba team works. ask marc cuban. there's always going to be a price point where spending more doesn't make sense business-wise. i don't know if the warriors get to that point by signing durant to a max deal while also paying iggy and livingston, but obviously durant doesn't want to find out

and there's no honor in spoiling rotten generations of family members. that's how entitled pricks are created...see previous post

Dice...so Durant sacrifices his family's generational wealth so that the Warriors owners can KEEP theirs? There is no honor is spoiling rotten Durants family while the Warriors owners spoil theirs....i get your point (sic). You need to check the value of the Warriors and think- Bay Area (big market)....winning big for a decade making them a global brand like the Bulls did with MJ...thats gonna make the owners filthy rich beyond thier wildest hopes...just in time to sell the team and make BILLIONS. Durant is a strong baller with a weak financial plan. Look you not gonna win this one with me...all of the details of this have already played out and we have seen this to fruition with MJ and Magic...Lebron (Rich Paul) and the ones that follow his lead have a chance to be owners... Durant taking less on that compound interest and thinking cause he in the valley he gonna get dot-com money....it's laughable. Unless a kid with a good idea brings Durant in just because they fans of his OR someone else with a marginal plan brings him to bank roll thier idea...only then does he have a chance...but in that case he is simply Kurt Schilling and that worked out for him didnt it. Either way...not my money...just my opinion. I'm trying to make MY small stack move...right off Zanker road.. ..the hustle is real!

[dice]

Dark Faze is right - its Millionaires saving money for Billionaires. Durant isn't looking at the big picture...he is looking at the smallest picture there is.

If Durant gets 10 rings and he retires a Warrior they will build him a statue and SELL THE TEAM for Infinintely more than it was worth as a result of those ten rings. And when Durants grandkids come to see GSWarrior games they will charge them for tickets and give them the seats they PAID FOR.

Meanwhile down the road the children of Jordan, Johnson and James will own teams and thier grandkids will reign as Billionaires because their granddad saw the big picture.

The owners dont need your money Durant- You DO. You think 100 million is a lot but if you play your cards right you have access to billions and when you retire James Dolan can kick you out your seats (ask Oak) and there isnt anything anyone can do for you...because he OWNs the team.

Durant doesnt get it... he got a bag full of checkers. Jordan is the Goat, Magic is number 2 and Lebron is clearly number 3...not on the court but at the bank. They didnt do that by giving anything back...ever. Its always Business...ALWAYS.

NBA players are on the cusp of being owners...but Durant doesnt see the big picture. Hmmmm 200 million contracts for players...where teams are worth 1billion- how quickly can a few of these guys team up and buy a team. While Durant is trading Rings for Ownership shares (what a joke)... Wake up Durant and join capitalistic america and remember the wise words of Jesse Owens- "I cant eat 4 gold medals"


Btw...if the GSW want 10 rings...they can afford to pay everyone!

paying boatloads of luxury tax cannot simply be written off by winning. that's not how the business of owning an nba team works. ask marc cuban. there's always going to be a price point where spending more doesn't make sense business-wise. i don't know if the warriors get to that point by signing durant to a max deal while also paying iggy and livingston, but obviously durant doesn't want to find out

and there's no honor in spoiling rotten generations of family members. that's how entitled pricks are created...see previous post

Dice...so Durant sacrifices his family's generational wealth so that the Warriors owners can KEEP theirs?

you're assuming that the team would be spending on other players whether they pay durant or not. bad assumption

Durant is a strong baller with a weak financial plan

he does. not. care.

Durant taking less on that compound interest and thinking cause he in the valley he gonna get dot-com money....it's laughable

has he ever said this? no? then why are you putting words in his mouth? his salary with the warriors is completely independent of that anyway, so it's not really relevant to the discussion

anybody who thinks this is a good financial decision for him is foolish. i can't imagine that HE thinks that. his agent is certainly not putting that in his ear

durant knows there's at least a CHANCE that a quality teammate or two will not be retained if he takes max money. and so he's not. that's all there is to it

[fansinceforever]

He's not. And no one other than irrational LeBron haters, Bay area residents and skip Bayless say so.

Do you believe Durant with the cavs rosters wins championship in '16 or even competes last year? You'll say yes but you know that's not true.

2 things have to happen in order for the cavs to win the title in 2016 w/ durant: he has to have a solid game in game 5 of the finals (lebron was great but didn't need to be - won by 15, went up double digits w/ 6 minutes left and never looked back). and he has to have a good game in game 7 (lebron wasn't making shots but had a good all-around game). i don't think anything else plays out materially differently on the season. so would durant have won a title? no idea. i'll lean no

this is a year later. and the cavs were not a great team this past season. their one and only notable accomplishment was thrashing the celtics in the ECF. and yes, they most certainly would have done that w/ durant in lebron's place. the celtics couldn't stop anybody on the team. it was freakish

durant arguably outplayed lebron in the finals head-to-head. they put up comparable numbers on the season. durant improved his game all around. he most certainly has an ARGUMENT that he is now the best player. and lebron will be a year older this coming season while durant will still be in his prime. maybe the finals were when the torch was passed

While I've firmly believed that Durant was the best player since his MVP season, it's easy to say he beat LeBron in the Finals due to all the attention that Curry, Green (for some reason teams don't just play this average at best offensive player one-on-one instead of doubling,) and Klay get. Durant had wide open spaces to do whatever he wanted. LeBron only had Kyrie to take attention away from him.

This is the point that ends the argument. LeBron would be skewered for having some of the past playoff performances/failures that Durant has had pre-joining a team that won more games than any team ever has.