Durant looks worse everytime he talks about his decision

[HotRocks34]

When Shaq went to the Lakers from the Magic (summer of 1996):

* The Magic were swept in the Finals the previous year (1995)
* Phil Jackson was the coach of the team that swept Shaq's team out of the 1996 playoffs
* The second half of the Jordan/PJax Bulls Dynasty had just begun (1996-1998)
* His coach in LA was Del Harris
* Kobe was the 13th pick of the 1996 draft (a rookie) who wouldn't even start for his first two years in the league
* The 53-win Lakers had lost in the first round of the playoffs earlier that spring (1996 playoffs)
* Etc (money issues between Shaq and the Magic, I think)


Definitely not a similar situation as Durant going to a 73-win team with the 2-time-defending MVP on it that just went to Game 7 of The Finals.

The analogy to be made here with Durant/GSW is Shaq deciding to join the 72-win Bulls, had the Bulls lost to the Sonics in the 1996 Finals.

[Emtokay]

This guy has come much closer to walking a mile in KD's shoes than any random internet poster.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/11/kevin-durant-joe-lacob-shed-more-light-on-durants-free-agency-decision/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1476197053

"Iguodala’s answer: “When you’re at that stage of your career, you want to find a place where you’re gonna enjoy your job. I had to grow up really fast in Philadelphia, just being in that environment. It was stressful to go to work. It helped me grow up fast, helped me understand both sides of on the court and off the court. But I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t quite enjoying the game of basketball, but I was giving it my all. You see a lot of athletes, Jerry Rice’s NFL Life, they said all Jerry did was work. But he didn’t have fun while he played. It was just work, work, work. I went through that for eight years in Philadelphia where I worked, worked, but I didn’t have fun. Playing against the Warriors in the playoffs, it’s interesting, when you’re playing on the road sometimes, you get a certain vibe. There’s this aura in Oracle Arena. It’s like, I don’t know what it is about this place, this team hasn’t won too many championships. There’s something about this place. I like playing here. Then you see the way the players are playing. Playing in the NBA, it’s all about confidence. With any professional athlete, it’s all about confidence. They all have talent. It’s all about confidence in the situation you’re in. I just saw the way Klay was shooting the ball. Like, he would take bad shots and coach would say, ‘Great shot!’ Then Steph would do certain moves where you’re like, ‘That’s not normal.’ Not that he shouldn’t be doing it, but there are a lot of other guys who could be doing similar things as Steph but their organization or coaching staff — (he turns to Durant) Kevin, you see it all the time — they don’t believe in you, so you’re not allowed to do it. You never know how good certain guys are. So when you see certain guys playing with that confidence, you’re like, wow, they really like playing basketball here and are really able to play to their strengths. It’s just like going to college. How do I see myself on campus, how do I see myself with other students, what’s my major on the side. It’s a similar process as going to college. This is a place where you combine all media and basketball interests as far as Silicon Valley and tech. Some of the thing that the team is doing off the court, it just kinda meshed. The timing is perfect.”

-Iguodala’s free agency decision, made three summers earlier, has parallels with Durant’s. He was eliminated by them in the playoffs. He saw how much fun they were having on the court. He decided he wanted to be a part of it."


It isn't just a question about where KD should play to entertain YOU, it's a question about how someone is going to live their life 24/7. None of the haters subject their life decisions to approval of the masses, and no other entertainer does either. No, you all are happy (or not) living your lives the way you think best yet you cast aspersions on someone else for making their own choices.

Plenty here are taking the easy way out and it isn't KD... as I've told all of my ex-wives, pointing out what is wrong with me is the easiest thing in the world to do, unfortunately it won't help YOU one bit. So, take a look in the mirror and apply your criticisms to a life you have some impact on...

this addresses the fundamental difference with people who are for and against kd.

first off. iggy is not a star of kd's caliber. he's just a good player. we expect our superstars(that's kd) to have more competitive spirit and therein lies the two sides of this issue. to put it in perspective there has never(i think) been a 1- superstar who quit a top 3 contending team to join the very team that beat it and is it's main competitor.

kg and allen didn't go to a competitor. for all intents and purposes, the celts were nothing. lebron(who's situation is so often brought up) and bosh were the same and miami was not their arch rival. and you can go back in nba history - west/baylor never went to the celts. barkley and ewing never joined the bulls. gimobili and duncan never joined the heat. wilt never joined russell. THAT is the context in which kd's decision to join gsw has rubbed many many many people the wrong way. and it's a diverse group that comprises them. from former stars to writers.

kg had the same issues iggy, but he didn't go to sas, the mavs, or phx. he and allen went to bos who won 20games..

the fallout of kd's decision seems, to me, to be all kinds of BS rationalizations by players who want to back kd up and all they're actually doing is NOT addressing what the real issue is. iggy is not a superstar, like i said, and anyway his reasoning is not why so many are po'd

[HotRocks34]

...

the fallout of kd's decision seems, to me, to be all kinds of BS rationalizations by players who want to back kd up and all they're actually doing is NOT addressing what the real issue is. iggy is not a superstar, like i said, and anyway his reasoning is not why so many are po'd

Don't worry about it, I would say.

The article that SFHand cited is from the San Jose Mercury News, which is a paper in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area that covers the Warriors. You would expect the paper, and fans of the Warriors, to present "their" side of the story this way. Like propaganda or something. To present Durant in a sympathetic light rather than in a negative light.

Remember, I think it was, that Durant was supposedly concerned with being a villain if he went to the Warriors. This apparently was very much on his mind when he met with the Warriors before committing to them.

So, if that is the case, and seeing as how Durant has apparently been booed in arenas several times since he made his choice, you would imagine that people who were there listening to Durant's concerns during the pitch meetings would try to help Durant out seeing as how he's being booed recently.

The Warriors (management, players) have to do and say this stuff. It's their obligation to the guy they convinced to sign with them. So they call up a reporter or see a reporter at the Warriors complex and the "hey, let's shed some more light on what REALLY happened when Kevin made his decision" stuff comes out.

I wouldn't sweat it. If non-Warriors NBA fans believed this stuff, my guess is they wouldn't be booing Durant at arenas outside of Oakland.

[510TWSS]

I don't like this because this will continue to set a dangerous precedent moving forward. Once you're a free agent, I guess you should just look at the team with the best record and join up with them because otherwise, it'll just be a waste of time to compete.

Fans like competition. That's a big reason why we play and watch. If there are just super teams forming, it feels like the sports experience is being taken away. Fans feel cheated.

At the same time the set of circumstances that had to take place for the Warriors to fit KD under the cap are very unique. Had the NBA and the PU agreed on cap smoothing KD is playing the year in OKC or possibly somewhere else.

[Jedi32]

Anyone can bash Durant except LeBron fans. The guy teamed up with a top 3 player and a 25/10 PF in the Eastern Conference to win, and when the two declined he jumps ship to join a top 5 PG and arguably the best big man in the league at the time.

He jumped ship to a team that didnt make playoffs, filled with players who havn't won anything substantial .

did you just call kevin love the best bigman in the league?

Or you could say he jumped to a team that had a former finals mvp and a top power forward.

[510TWSS]

No, I can safely guarantee it. I guarantee Russ didn't text a single GSW player during the conference finals.

Russ, is that you?

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No, but about the only guy I'd say is as unlikey ever to do that would be KG.

I prefer the Tim Duncan method of coaching your opponent how to defend you better in the post all while still slaying the guy.

[The Hypnotoad]

Durant makes the point i made back when he made this decision. Can anyone say they wouldn't have thought less of Durant if he signed with GS even if they had won the finals last season? Because Golden States loss in the finals was extremely flukey, i give credit to Cleveland for beating them, but the difference at the end of that series came down to Draymond Green missing Game 5 and Curry / Bogut / Igudola being injured. GS didn't need any help in returning the finals and in all likelihood they would have been favored to win next season without him.

[510TWSS]

...

the fallout of kd's decision seems, to me, to be all kinds of BS rationalizations by players who want to back kd up and all they're actually doing is NOT addressing what the real issue is. iggy is not a superstar, like i said, and anyway his reasoning is not why so many are po'd

Don't worry about it, I would say.

The article that SFHand cited is from the San Jose Mercury News, which is a paper in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area that covers the Warriors. You would expect the paper, and fans of the Warriors, to present "their" side of the story this way. Like propaganda or something. To present Durant in a sympathetic light rather than in a negative light.

Remember, I think it was, that Durant was supposedly concerned with being a villain if he went to the Warriors. This apparently was very much on his mind when he met with the Warriors before committing to them.

So, if that is the case, and seeing as how Durant has apparently been booed in arenas several times since he made his choice, you would imagine that people who were there listening to Durant's concerns during the pitch meetings would try to help Durant out seeing as how he's being booed recently.

The Warriors (management, players) have to do and say this stuff. It's their obligation to the guy they convinced to sign with them. So they call up a reporter or see a reporter at the Warriors complex and the "hey, let's shed some more light on what REALLY happened when Kevin made his decision" stuff comes out.

I wouldn't sweat it. If non-Warriors NBA fans believed this stuff, my guess is they wouldn't be booing Durant at arenas outside of Oakland.

I don't think the fan reaction was a factor in his decision. He's said repeatedly he's liked GSW from the outside previous to his decision. On the ESPN pods a couple of reporters noted there was interest from KD that winter.

He was never concerned about being portrayed as a villain. From all that I gather, play style and chemistry factored heavily.

And let's not be naive he was thinking about the Warriors probably all year. But of course he can't say that. And no, I don't think that had any bearing on the WCF outcome. Dray and KD both confirmed they never texted during the series (I guess take that with a grain of salt too, but you're never gonna get 100% truth).

[HotRocks34]

I don't think the fan reaction was a factor in his decision. He's said repeatedly he's liked GSW from the outside previous to his decision. On the ESPN pods a couple of reporters noted there was interest from KD that winter.

He was never concerned about being portrayed as a villain. From all that I gather, play style and chemistry factored heavily.

And let's not be naive he was thinking about the Warriors probably all year. But of course he can't say that. And no, I don't think that had any bearing on the WCF outcome. Dray and KD both confirmed they never texted during the series (I guess take that with a grain of salt too, but you're never gonna get 100% truth).

The highlighted part is false, according to at least one report.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/07/04/kevin-durant-warriors-free-agent-thunder/86684632/

The Warriors’ meeting with Durant on Friday lasted for a little more than two hours, and it went a little something like this…

First hour: Management and coaching staff took center stage, with Durant quietly listening for most of the time while general manager Bob Myers, coach Steve Kerr and Lacob painted a picture of what Durant could expect and how they’d try to take over the NBA in years to come. The Warriors were struck by one thing early: Durant, quite clearly, was concerned with the PR hit he would likely take by leaving the Thunder behind to join the team that had beaten him in the Western Conference Finals. He didn’t want to be seen as a villain, and wanted to know how they saw that sensitive part of this whole picture.

Their sense, from there until the end, was that he wanted to join the Warriors but may not have the stomach to actually go through with it.


So, not only was Durant supposedly concerned with being the villain, but he was concerned about it to the point that Durant's concern "struck" the Warriors.

That makes sense. And that is why I think, after Durant has been booed recently, that Warriors players/management might come out with even further positive statements about Durant and his decision to reporters. To try to help Durant through the "villainy" he may be experiencing in the hearts of many NBA fans.

I'm sure that at the meeting, the Warriors players/management told Durant they'd help out with that.

[nikster]

Anyone can bash Durant except LeBron fans. The guy teamed up with a top 3 player and a 25/10 PF in the Eastern Conference to win, and when the two declined he jumps ship to join a top 5 PG and arguably the best big man in the league at the time.

He jumped ship to a team that didnt make playoffs, filled with players who havn't won anything substantial .

did you just call kevin love the best bigman in the league?

Or you could say he jumped to a team that had a former finals mvp and a top power forward.

Take that elite shooting guard and top power foward and add a current MVP point guard, better role players, Coach of the year, an established offensive system and the experience (and capability) of two finals funs and you have the Warriors before they add Durant.

[haterade]

Not a warrior or thunder fan but the reason why I didn't like his decision is because he robbed me of 4-5 years of great basketball to watch. The Thunder/Warrior matchup would've been amazing to watch for the next 5 years. I'm a basketball fan first and foremost and this past season's western conference playoffs was some of the best basketball to watch.


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[Roscoe Sheed]

Durant is an embarrassment. He obviously had his mind made up to go to the Warriors while last season was still going on. They choked away a 3-1 lead and Durant played quite poorly in the 4th quarter of game 6, perhaps because he subconsciously wanted to lose so he could join the warriors

[510TWSS]

I don't think the fan reaction was a factor in his decision. He's said repeatedly he's liked GSW from the outside previous to his decision. On the ESPN pods a couple of reporters noted there was interest from KD that winter.

He was never concerned about being portrayed as a villain. From all that I gather, play style and chemistry factored heavily.

And let's not be naive he was thinking about the Warriors probably all year. But of course he can't say that. And no, I don't think that had any bearing on the WCF outcome. Dray and KD both confirmed they never texted during the series (I guess take that with a grain of salt too, but you're never gonna get 100% truth).

The highlighted part is false, according to at least one report.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/07/04/kevin-durant-warriors-free-agent-thunder/86684632/

The Warriors’ meeting with Durant on Friday lasted for a little more than two hours, and it went a little something like this…

First hour: Management and coaching staff took center stage, with Durant quietly listening for most of the time while general manager Bob Myers, coach Steve Kerr and Lacob painted a picture of what Durant could expect and how they’d try to take over the NBA in years to come. The Warriors were struck by one thing early: Durant, quite clearly, was concerned with the PR hit he would likely take by leaving the Thunder behind to join the team that had beaten him in the Western Conference Finals. He didn’t want to be seen as a villain, and wanted to know how they saw that sensitive part of this whole picture.

Their sense, from there until the end, was that he wanted to join the Warriors but may not have the stomach to actually go through with it.


So, not only was Durant supposedly concerned with being the villain, but he was concerned about it to the point that Durant's concern "struck" the Warriors.

That makes sense. And that is why I think, after Durant has been booed recently, that Warriors players/management might come out with even further positive statements about Durant and his decision to reporters. To try to help Durant through the "villainy" he may be experiencing in the hearts of many NBA fans.

I'm sure that at the meeting, the Warriors players/management told Durant they'd help out with that.

Well, sure if you don't acknowledge that this move will bring about highly controversial takes then he's incredibly tone deaf. Its one of the elephants in the room but not the biggest. And to that point he still made the jump to GSW knowing it wouldn't be well received. He even made a joke at the press conference that the Bay loved his decision but no one outside of the Bay seems to agree with it.

To me the one thing that'll be interesting is when KD and Russ have their first face to face. I'm not sure exactly how he notified Russ but from all the interviews sounds like they have bridges to mend.

[bondom34]

Russ, is that you?

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No, but about the only guy I'd say is as unlikey ever to do that would be KG.

I prefer the Tim Duncan method of coaching your opponent how to defend you better in the post all while still slaying the guy.

I'm a fan of the Steven Adams method of claiming you don't speak English to try to get a guy to stop trash talking .

[Emtokay]

...

the fallout of kd's decision seems, to me, to be all kinds of BS rationalizations by players who want to back kd up and all they're actually doing is NOT addressing what the real issue is. iggy is not a superstar, like i said, and anyway his reasoning is not why so many are po'd

Don't worry about it, I would say.

The article that SFHand cited is from the San Jose Mercury News, which is a paper in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area that covers the Warriors. You would expect the paper, and fans of the Warriors, to present "their" side of the story this way. Like propaganda or something. To present Durant in a sympathetic light rather than in a negative light.

Remember, I think it was, that Durant was supposedly concerned with being a villain if he went to the Warriors. This apparently was very much on his mind when he met with the Warriors before committing to them.

So, if that is the case, and seeing as how Durant has apparently been booed in arenas several times since he made his choice, you would imagine that people who were there listening to Durant's concerns during the pitch meetings would try to help Durant out seeing as how he's being booed recently.

The Warriors (management, players) have to do and say this stuff. It's their obligation to the guy they convinced to sign with them. So they call up a reporter or see a reporter at the Warriors complex and the "hey, let's shed some more light on what REALLY happened when Kevin made his decision" stuff comes out.

I wouldn't sweat it. If non-Warriors NBA fans believed this stuff, my guess is they wouldn't be booing Durant at arenas outside of Oakland.

I don't think the fan reaction was a factor in his decision. He's said repeatedly he's liked GSW from the outside previous to his decision. On the ESPN pods a couple of reporters noted there was interest from KD that winter.

He was never concerned about being portrayed as a villain. From all that I gather, play style and chemistry factored heavily.

And let's not be naive he was thinking about the Warriors probably all year. But of course he can't say that. And no, I don't think that had any bearing on the WCF outcome. Dray and KD both confirmed they never texted during the series (I guess take that with a grain of salt too, but you're never gonna get 100% truth).

well, if he doesn't care it sure isn't playing out that way. too many post-decision rationalizations and damage control statements. i mean ,,,why is anyone(and him) from gsw even rehashing this??? seems like every week we're getting that he always wanted to go to now iggy's ridiculous statement, or something.

i'll bet too that kd's marketability image has taken a big it

[KnicksGadfly]

Kevin Durant playing the Mike Miller role in Miami! All you haters sit down! He gonna get his rings!

[prech]

I don't like this because this will continue to set a dangerous precedent moving forward. Once you're a free agent, I guess you should just look at the team with the best record and join up with them because otherwise, it'll just be a waste of time to compete.

Fans like competition. That's a big reason why we play and watch. If there are just super teams forming, it feels like the sports experience is being taken away. Fans feel cheated.

This is an anomaly. Teams with the best record typically don't have an MVP who is the 5th highest paid player on the team. That's pretty much what made this deal possible. If Curry was paid like an MVP, this probably doesn't even get off the ground.

Have seen this a few times, but this is false and misinformation.

The cap jumped $24M from 2015/16 to 2016/17, that increase alone was almost enough to enable GSW to sign KD to his max. IIRC 26 of 30 teams had enough space to for a max player slot.

In GSW's case, they simply would have needed to drop another ~$4M from their books as soon as KD said yes, irregardless of how much Steph was paid. That $4M could have beeen Livingston or another role player. Steph's low salary had _some_ impact, but it was not significant for this signing.

Source: Read any salary cap website, or this Zach Lowe article: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/16766273/the-warriors-makings-all-super-team-addition-kevin-durant

[lambchop]

who even cares about these comments or durants decision. KD now finally has a more realistic shot at a title. He could have been loyal to the thunder and never won a chip. Now he could win multiple titles. He already has the individual stats, but true team success has eluded him.
Joining a 73 win team won't help his legacy, but his career will still look more well-rounded with a championship ring.

He was a game away from the finals. How much more of a realistic shot could it get?

Just spitballing here, but he could join a team that went to the finals?

I think kd believes he would have lost against lebron anyway and would this year too, but with curry, klay, draymond, iggy he feels like he can win

[GreenBloodedC]

Biggest pussy move in NBA history by a star player. Hope Golden State gets rolled by the Spurs or Cavs in the playoffs.

They won't. Warriors will rightfully take back what was their's last season, a championship that was stolen away from Warriors by Silver. Even with one superstar down, you got like 2 or 3 more standing which will be more than enough unless Silver and the league strikes again.

I was rooting for the Warriors last year, and it was definitely not stolen by Silver. They had a 3 - 1 lead, they have no one to blame but themselves.

PS

Green should have been suspended earlier and who knows if they would beat OKC.

[Emtokay]

Kevin Durant playing the Mike Miller role in Miami! All you haters sit down! He gonna get his rings!

it's never been about the rings except for fans who want to rethink it that way. it's always been about surrendering to a rival, and rings won't validate kd. getting a ring validated allen, kg, lebron, and bosh's reasons for leaving. not THIS because the issue isn't grabbing a ring, not from detractors and not even from kd himself - he has never said "i'm going for rings". iirc those other players, they DID say it was about the ring