og15 wrote:wco81 wrote:So you obviously don't have an explanation about the difference.
Because outside of people on RealGM, nobody cares.
Not like NBA fans stopped buying Durant shoes or jerseys because he committed some horrible offense.
Most honest Warrior fans understand exactly why people dislike Durrant's decision and how it differs from other stars changing teams. They have either just accepted it and say "well we're winning who cares", or they ignore it. Then there's a subset of Warrior fans who want to try and make it seem like it's just a run of the mill average every year star movement that's no big deal and no one should be mad.
Here's the difference:
-Durant went to a team that already had 3 stars and by their own admission didn't need him to win, Paul went to a team with just one star and which NEEDED another star to even be a consistent WCF threat, let alone win
-Durant went to the Warriors knowing full well that he was basically guaranteed a finals appearance and essentially a championship barring injury. Paul went to a team that we weren't even certain would make the WCF and is in no way guaranteed a finals let alone a championship
-Durant went to a team that in the previous two seasons had won 65+ games and won a championship and went to the finals, Paul joined a team that the previous two seasons had a first and a second round exit
-Durant joined a team that won the most regular season games in NBA history, Paul joined a 55 or 56 win team
It really should be easy to figure out unless you are trying to deliberately act oblivious. A ton of people outside of RealGM cared, don't be fooled. It was definitely a big deal when I discussed with my high school and college basketball friends. There were some who were already Warrior fans who were happy, but no neutral fan saw it as good, they saw it as unfair and echoed the same sentiments you had on RealGM. That doesn't mean the the mass of casual fans who are jumping on to a new team every year and all the kids who don't care about any of the details and just want to like good teams aren't going to keep buying jerseys and liking Durant, but to think him having continued support means that another mass of people weren't extremely disapproving, that would be naive.
You can even just look at fans on road and other social media outlets, including Durant's own Twitter and his behavior after making the decision. He very aware of the reality of how people feel, so thinking it's some RealGM phenomenon is just ridiculous.
First of all, most free agent signings are primarily driven by money.
It may appear like Durant left money on the table but he makes far more off court than his NBA salary, like Lebron. But I suspect he got incentives from Nike to join the Warriors.
Second you make it sound as if there weren't valid basketball reasons to join the Warriors. He plays with far more spacing than he ever would have had staying in OKC or going to another team. His efficiency has been as high as its ever been, though he's not shooting that well in the playoffs so far.
Third, CP3 left for the Rockets to win a ring, which is what you're accusing Durant of. Durant did win but for all we know, that's all he will ever win. Warriors are nowhere near the form from a year ago and I have my doubts that they can regain it. If that turns out to be the case, they probably peaked last year and a top-heavy roster doesn't make for a juggernaut team.
