I'm not in defense of KD one way or another. He is not on HOU wtf cares what he does? If we made those layups, Gordon got hot, or luc hit his open looks this thread wouldn' exist. Like cp3 said "shut up and play ball"
Now pls dun say you would not welcome him with open arms, I would. And with paycut. I know he choked but Durant like Lebron left because the FO was not great or did not have the vision to get the right players, in OKC's case a brilliant coach and not letting Harden go. Lebron just went a step further, by going to the Heat, the Cavs tanked, have gotten Kyrie and when he came back, Kyrie was already a star. And one relatively easy championship more! OKC had the core for a dynasty.
So are you saying Adam Silver is wrong, and that you understand what's best for the league better than him? Adam Silver: Warriors' signing of Kevin Durant shows CBA needs change "Just to be absolutely clear, I do not think that's ideal from the league standpoint"
The problem isn't that KD left. Obviously, OKC right now is a cheap franchise, they could have kept that team together but wanted to prove a silly point to Harden and it backfired massively... It's about the team he decided to go to. The team he lost to...after leading the OKC to a 3-1 series lead against. It's Pierce said, it's like getting bullied and then joining the bullies. It's a pro-wrestling storyline, where the face gets beat up by a group of heels and has enough and joins them. Wrestling uses it a lot. He could have gone to any other team and it would be a standard move. I think it has hurt his legacy, you never hear even the talking heads mention him in the same breath as the other all-time greats. Sure, he's a HOF but I don't think he'll ever enter that top 10 territory.
Durant's move was indefensible. I said it back then that it would forever tarnish his legacy as one of the greatest players in history. He lost all my respect. But I don't blame guys like Klay Thompson who are willing to take pay cut to play on a winning team. There's nothing wrong to admit that you are not a franchise player and are willing to support your team by doing whatever you can. I don't remember Klay has ever claimed to be a superstar. It's the media or other fans who do that. BTW, I'm rooting for the Celtics too.
Agreed. It's not on free agent players to preserve competitive balance of the league. How can you fault a player for wanting to be part of a winning team? Would any of us fault LeBron James if he decided to join Harden and CP3? This is a systemic issue that needs to be addressed from the top. There needs to be more disincentives for super-talented players teaming up like this. One idea that came to mind for me was put a hard cap on how many players from a given team can be voted to the all-star team. Say, max 2 players. That's a simple, easy-to-implement change, and I think it could have a significant impact on players choosing to be a part of a "Big 3" or "Big 4".
wouldn't need him if KD did execute his b**** move. but he did so we have no choice to try to get lebron which just makes the problem worse.
It was a beta move by KD. But it (a) is his choice and (b) doesn't ruin the league. The NBA set the rules such that if all players act like rational economic actors this wouldn't happen. Paul and Lebron are right that players should not be taking paycuts to build dynasties. But the rules do allow players to make irrational economic choices for non-monetary benefits. The Rockets occasionally benefited from that, like the year that Barkley signed for $1m to make room for Quitten (I'm using the word "benefit" here very loosely). If KD wants to give up money so he can have fun and win more championships, that's great. The league should perhaps put on their thinking caps and figure out how to reduce those things. But, I don't believe superteams ruin the league. This one is more stable than most, but we've seen so many superteams fall apart. OKC was supposedly set up to dominate the league for a decade, but they traded Harden, lost KD, and fell to pieces. The Super Friends in Miami only lasted a couple of years until Wade was too injured and Bosh too ineffective and Lebron decided to bolt. Shaq, Kobe, Payton, and Malone were supposed to run the league, but the chemistry blew up. Marbury and Garnett split up. The Kidd/Finley team in Dallas fell victim to feuding. Duncan's Spurs stayed together, even with guys taking paycuts, but still couldn't always win and sometimes were sidelined with significant injuries. So I'm not too worried. They'll be tough for the Rockets to beat in this series, but I don't expect them to last forever.
Also blame the players union for allowing the salary cap to jump after the 2016 season vs a smoothing in increase in cap. It gave the Warriors just enough space to sign KD.
No rules were broken, it was still a chump move. As mentioned before, the guy joined the bullies who used to bully him instead of going against them. Not a single person is arguing that he broke any rules. It's like getting in a street fight and you immediately kick the other guy in the nuts. Sure, you didn't break any rules, it's a fight, anything goes, but it's a punk move.
