KD to GS - Pt III

[DreDay]

If anything, I think he is humble. He realizes he needs to be in a better team to be able to win it all. He admits it, and joins the team that just beat him out of the playoffs, even if he felt insulted by the team's second best player to begin with. He leaves the pride aside to be in a better position to reach the ultimate and only goal. I have zero problems with that, even if that means my team will be obliterated if they face each other in the postseason.

Good luck GSW, break records and get Curry his third straight MVP, but please lose to SA in the playoffs.

So if your GF ditched you for your rival at the workplace, you'd be chill coz she'd be satisfied now?

Jeez, That is such Beta mentality.

Durant is much closer to a typical employer/employee relationship than boyfriend/girlfriend...

[DNP - Old]

If anything, I think he is humble. He realizes he needs to be in a better team to be able to win it all. He admits it, and joins the team that just beat him out of the playoffs, even if he felt insulted by the team's second best player to begin with. He leaves the pride aside to be in a better position to reach the ultimate and only goal. I have zero problems with that, even if that means my team will be obliterated if they face each other in the postseason.

Good luck GSW, break records and get Curry his third straight MVP, but please lose to SA in the playoffs.

So if your GF ditched you for your rival at the workplace, you'd be chill coz she'd be satisfied now?

Jeez, That is such Beta mentality.

I'm not an OKC fan, so that's not a really good example. If it was my friend's girl going with another dude I'd be sad for my pal, but I'd be fine with it, she did just what made her happy. That's not being beta in my opinion, just being mature.

[AIfan3]

I don't get this "Durant lost respect" thing.
He wants to win rings. went to a team with the highest probability of winning one with. If he wins a ring with the warriors, then he wins a ring and adds to his legacy. Not in the realms of Lebron, Kobe and MJ but something like along the lines of Pippen... you know, the guy who won 6 rings with Jordan and is considered by many as one of the best defenders in his position ever. Great guy, great player, a legend, but not among "THE LEGENDS" something that Jordan has elevated to and something that Kobe tried to attain and Lebron is chasing after.
Winning rings with the warriors wont diminish Durant's achievements and legacy, but his legacy will be below those who are truly great and below those who almost but did not quite reach the peak.

It was never about winning rings. Durant was two made shots and 5 minutes away from competing for a ring and he blew it. If it was solely about rings, he had no rationale for leaving, as the Thunder proved that they were every bit as good as the Warriors, and younger to boot..

I personally think that Durant made this decision from a pure business/monetary standpoint. Or at least his handlers did. All these guys are products to the NBA at the end of the day. Fans attempt to put a human side to all this, but there is really none when you're talking business and money. Durant has 10x more exposure playing in a big market like Oakland and playing next to Steph Curry.. His endorsement deals will increase 10 fold now, cause every fan and their mom will be watching the Warriors, either to see them make history or fall flat on their face. All Durant has to do now is just not pull a Dwight..

[NBAfan3024]

If anything, I think he is humble. He realizes he needs to be in a better team to be able to win it all. He admits it, and joins the team that just beat him out of the playoffs, even if he felt insulted by the team's second best player to begin with. He leaves the pride aside to be in a better position to reach the ultimate and only goal. I have zero problems with that, even if that means my team will be obliterated if they face each other in the postseason.

Good luck GSW, break records and get Curry his third straight MVP, but please lose to SA in the playoffs.

So if your GF ditched you for your rival at the workplace, you'd be chill coz she'd be satisfied now?

Jeez, That is such Beta mentality.

What an embarrassing comparison.

[te887848]

OKC isn't thaaat good. Yeah they could've won a title with Durant, but for 9 years they tried and for 9 years they failed. That's plenty of time to give a team. The dude played nearly a full decade for the team and they never won. He's perfectly justified in seeking greener pastures.

OKC is every bit as close to a 2nd round exit as they are to a Finals appearance, for people who keep harping on the "were up 3-1 to GSW, 6 minutes away from beating them in Game 6" argument.

Horrific officiating and blown calls gave OKC Game 5 at San Antonio in the second round, without which it's highly unlikely they even get past the semifinals.

[TaylorMonkey]

It's no secret that LeBron is just as bitter of Curry's rise to superstardom, but he did what any true competitor would do

Step over the other team's best defender, instigate a reaction that he didn't even feel, and then petition along with his franchise to remove that player from the next two games in the NBA Finals?

What a competitor.


And it's no secret LeBron pioneered the teaming-up-with-superstar-buddies thing. Durant's just following the footsteps of great competitors. Maybe someday he'll go back to OKC when the Warriors get old, and after the Thunder pick up a bunch of #1 picks-- like all great competitors do.

[michaelm]

OKC isn't thaaat good. Yeah they could've won a title with Durant, but for 9 years they tried and for 9 years they failed. That's plenty of time to give a team. The dude played nearly a full decade for the team and they never won. He's perfectly justified in seeking greener pastures.

OKC is every bit as close to a 2nd round exit as they are to a Finals appearance, for people who keep harping on the "were up 3-1 to GSW, 6 minutes away from beating them in Game 6" argument.

Horrific officiating and blown calls gave OKC Game 5 at San Antonio in the second round, without which it's highly unlikely they even get past the semifinals.

I don't know about your whole post, but Durant did give OKC 9 years of his career and suffered a near career ending injury in their service and fulfilled all contractual obligations, and is apparently now contracting his services legally to another team. He may have made his own assessment of the quality of the organisation going forward; if they let Harden go because they thought he was negative for the team fine, but Ibaka is also now gone, and if the team management made decisions, possibly financially based, not entirely related to strengthening their team then so can he surely.

That said, while GSW were right not to re-sign Barnes instead for only a few million per year less, I think a player like Adams and a cheaper replacement for Barnes might have served the team better in terms of taking on the Cavs if Curry returns to what he was before his injuries in the play-offs.

[michaelm]

It's no secret that LeBron is just as bitter of Curry's rise to superstardom, but he did what any true competitor would do

Step over the other team's best defender, instigate a reaction that he didn't even feel, and then petition along with his franchise to remove that player from the next two games in the NBA Finals?

What a competitor.

Absolutely, and still my gripe.

LeBron obviously closed out the series playing superbly, if Curry was injured it was his and GSW's problem and no concern of their opposition, and Green was stupid to be in the position of being vulnerable to such a bitch act from Lebron, but LeBron and the Cavs organisation were in no way admirable for that act and the sequelae to it.

I hope GSW slaughter them with the addition of KD, but am worried about rim protection.

[Kabookalu]

One thing is for certain, Golden State just seems like a team that people want to play for. And I'm not even referencing their style of play either, because lest we forget, Andre Iguodala did the exact same thing; he joined the team that beat him. He mentioned the camaraderie the Warriors gave off being the biggest selling point. This was during a time when Mark Jackson was still their coach and ran an awful stagnant offensive system that worked against the strengths of the Warriors; during a time when they weren't a contender yet.

Durant did mention that it was who he played with that mattered, and the chemistry of the Warriors may have been what appealed to him more than anything.

[r0drig0lac]

Wiretap is saying Draymond literally told KD we can win rings without you regardless

And KD still ran to the team? If that's legit that's crazy. No matter what Jerry West supposedly said to smooth it over that is wild.

I mean damn. You gotta give KD this, the dude must REALLY want a ring if he can hear that and still want to join.

The message to take from all of that is that Jerry West is still a boss.

It is the final beta

[Pillendreher]

He realizes he needs to be in a better team to be able to win it all.

There's just one problem with that: That's just not true. The Thunder were right there with the best of the best. Both him and Russ are in their prime. Their supporting cast were only gonna get better. Don't tell me about the need for this move. There was no need. None at all.

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

This sums up my feeling about KD to the warriors and why I am upset. It's bad enough team Lebron ruined the east for the past 6 seasons (and counting) now we have the warriors who will ruin the west for the next 5 season.

For at least the next 5 years the NBA it will be warriors vs cavs in the finals. Think about that.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/jul/06/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors-villain


NBA fans angry about Durant’s decision aren’t actually upset with his career choice. They’re pissed that his (very understandable) decision takes away much of the entertainment and intrigue from the sport they love. If the rest of life seems rigged for the powerful and futile for the rest, at least we have sports to escape to where anything can happen and anyone can succeed. But that feels gone in the NBA, at least for the near future. The Eastern Conference has been run by whichever team employs LeBron James for the past forever years and there is zero indication that will end anytime soon, no matter how many Al Horfords are shuffled around. But at least the Western Conference provided some mystery each year about who might meet LeBron in June, with the Warriors, Spurs and Thunder all poised to be legitimate contenders again in 2016-17 if everything stayed the same. Only now Durant is on the Warriors, Tim Duncan is reportedly retiring, and an 82-game season and three rounds of playoffs – stretching from late October to the end of May – is essentially pointless for 28 teams beyond player development. The NBA now had two D-leagues because we’re all sure what’s coming in June: Warriors vs. Cavs. Kevin Durant’s decision – his reasoned and wise decision – ruins seven months of basketball for tens of millions of fans.

[Craafty16]

This sit affect his legacy at all jeeeez

"Rings is the key to having a great legacy, KD needs them to be considered a great"

*gets rings*

"Well we didn't mean that way we meant the other way"

There's a difference between winning a ring, and being a champion

[DNP - Old]

He realizes he needs to be in a better team to be able to win it all.

There's just one problem with that: That's just not true. The Thunder were right there with the best of the best. Both him and Russ are in their prime. Their supporting cast were only gonna get better. Don't tell me about the need for this move. There was no need. None at all.

Yeah, possibly, but he may think, as well as I do, that he has a better chance with Golden State. The increase in the odds of winning the championship are enough for him to leave his team behind.

[ChilledAlex]

I have to add that another reason, on top of the other obvious reasons I strongly believe why Durant chose Warriors over any other team, was that they are a very religious team; Curry, Green, and Iggy in particular. Durant also is very religious, and I have no doubt that the recruiting throughout the year also had a pinch of religion.

Green religious? Dude is the dirtiest douchebag in todays NBA

[witnessraps]

Yo Kev....

[Kabookalu]

I have to add that another reason, on top of the other obvious reasons I strongly believe why Durant chose Warriors over any other team, was that they are a very religious team; Curry, Green, and Iggy in particular. Durant also is very religious, and I have no doubt that the recruiting throughout the year also had a pinch of religion.

Green religious? Dude is the dirtiest douchebag in todays NBA

Some of the douchiest people I know are hardcore christians.

Now I'm not saying Green is very religious, but it's not improbable just because he's a douche.

[DNP - Old]

I have to add that another reason, on top of the other obvious reasons I strongly believe why Durant chose Warriors over any other team, was that they are a very religious team; Curry, Green, and Iggy in particular. Durant also is very religious, and I have no doubt that the recruiting throughout the year also had a pinch of religion.

Green religious? Dude is the dirtiest douchebag in todays NBA

Religious =/= righteous.

[chuckdevlin]

Lol. Imagine Lebron losing to the spurs when he was in MIA, then joining the Spurs the next season.

lollllll

[Pillendreher]

He realizes he needs to be in a better team to be able to win it all.

There's just one problem with that: That's just not true. The Thunder were right there with the best of the best. Both him and Russ are in their prime. Their supporting cast were only gonna get better. Don't tell me about the need for this move. There was no need. None at all.

Yeah, possibly, but he may think, as well as I do, that he has a better chance with Golden State. The increase in the odds of winning the championship are enough for him to leave his team behind.

According to latest reports they basically told him they don't need him and he took it. They signed him to take out an opponent and he doesn't even realize it.