The Penguin wrote:RipPizzaGuy wrote:The Penguin wrote:Who cares?
This is the league now, AAU culture, if teams can't build around these superstars to the point they think they can win, they are going to leave for a better opportunity and they should. If someone is working for a tech startup that looks like it might go under and Amazon comes calling, no one is going to say that's a bitch move. This antiquated notion you must be tied to the team that drafts you and the only respectable way to build a franchise is through draft picks is just stupid.
Typically I agree. That said OKC wasn't a "tech startup going under" they had a top 10 guy, a top 5 guy, and several other good players in their primes. They then had a chance to overtake the giant and KD failed to do so. Had KD stayed in OKC, they are one of the best teams in the league and arguably could have won at least the title last year.
Last year they would have been
Adams/Kanter
Taj/Sabonis
Durant/Grant
Oladipo/Roberson
Westbrook
This team is winning the title. And then they could have went and traded for Paul George anyways and DEFINITELY been the favorites this year.
Adams
Durant
George
Roberson
Westbrook
They could be going for 2 in a row with 4 all stars the same as GSW but nobody would have hated on him for that.
Or they could have not gone cheap and kept Harden...
But largely it doesn't change the point. He left for a better "job". If DeAndre Hopkins lights it up for 6 years with the Texans, has some playoff success but ultimately never wins, then goes to the Pats and wins a ring, no one following the NFL is questioning his manhood or suggesting an asterisk on his HOF plaque. If Justin Verlander goes to a couple WS with the Tigers, but never wins, only to join the Astros and win the title no one says it diminishes his legacy. This is exclusively a NBA fan thing and it's dumb.
I agree they should have kept Harden. But your OP was making it seem like the walls were crashing down in OKC. They were up 3-1 against the Warriors in the WCF. This was MJ leaving the Bulls to join the Celtics. Something that we have never seen done. Even Lebron didn't leave to join hes top competition. He joined a 47 win team who basically started from scratch the next year save Wade/Haslem. HE STILL got backlash.
Also your NFL/MLB comparsion doesn't even come close to comparison. No one player in the NFL or MLB makes as significant of a difference as one player in the NBA. It would more so be like if Brady and Belichick lost in the Super Bowl to the Eagles and both of them decided to go join the Eagles. Even then NFL is a different beast because anything can happen in 1 game, where the NBA is a series and usually the best talent wins out.
The reason people are mad at Durant is that he took the competitive spirit out of the NBA. As fans we choose to see it as entertainment not a business. Right or wrong, Durant had his chance to overtake the "Amazon" of the NBA and failed. Then did something no great player in the NBA has ever done. Defend him all you want, I'll be the first to say its his right to do that. But don't get upset when other people criticize him for his lack of mental toughness.