even on his way to the locker room yesterday after his incredible game 3. He stopped and had to jaw back and forth with an obnoxious fan. But then there's this, re: him and the Worriers... "I mean, I just love that support from my teammates," Durant said, "and I think we all just support each other in a real -- with a real childlike approach to the game. That's rare in the NBA because we're all professionals. We're all grown men. But I think having guys that get so excited about a good play, a good block or a good rotation or a good shot or dagger shot. I think everybody gets excited for the small parts of the game, and Steph is one of those guys that just brings that joy." Ah yes, that mouthpiece-slobbering joy -- that's how we all feel about Steph. Link: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-warriors-3-0-finals-lead-cleveland-cavaliers
Why do you think it's up to you to decide what's best for him or that you get any input in that at all? So completely bizarre. Do I get to have a say in what decisions you should make for your life?
From what I read on here, it seems people say he's insecure and cares too much about what others think about him. But then that he was stupid not making decisions based on how it would affect his legacy. It strikes me that people are just starting from "must criticize KD" and then trying to find ways to justify it.
It's true that the KD hate is getting a little old. On the other hand, he deserves it. Maybe time will make people dislike him less, but as long as GS keeps this core together (or unless the Rox get Lebron), that feeling will never completely go away. He'll need to do something to make people change their minds, like Lebron did going back to Cleveland.
The talk on Yahoo after Durant's big game is that he is the new number 1, and that Lebron and he could join forces with the Lakers. Durant hasn't faced a tough defender since Ariza who is not athletic or quick. His smarts and determination shook KD up until CP3 went down. We just ran out of gas. Lebron is an alpha, I don't see KD moving from GS. He needs Curry, Klay and Draymond to succeed. Lebron will help him out a lot, but the younger LA players aren't good enough to carry them over the finishing line in my opinion. I believe KD will stay with GS.
I don't care if people want to hate on a player - it's just that most of it is inconsistent. People keep saying he's insecure and cares too much about what others think but then criticize his decision to go to GS because he didn't care enough about his legacy (ie, what others think). It just makes no sense.
Another way to put it -- imagine Luke accepted Darth Vader's offer to rule the galaxy together at the end of Empire Strikes Back. Now imagine that the plot of Return of the Jedi was that everyone said, "Luke was just doing what was best for himself. Also, he is even more amazing with a lightsaber now." Would Luke be a popular character today?
It's not based on what people are saying here, it's from Durant himself. Look at his quotes, look at his quotes through the years. Hell, the guy made an alternate twitter account showcasing his insecurity. I think there is more than enough evidence to say this character trait applies to him. In that interview he basically states himself that he needed the validity from the Warriors. I think that people here (and really everywhere) are saying that his move to the Warriors does not help his legacy. Whether he thought it would or wouldn't is kind of irrelevant to the point that it doesn't. Maybe he didn't realize that people don't just count rings when talking about the best players ever? Both are possible man. That Durant THOUGHT going to the Warriors would boost his legacy... and No one thinks it helps his legacy... It seems more likely that he miscalculated the move, he thought that just winning rings would be a boost for his legacy, and many people don't see it this way. We can no longer say "Well, maybe Durant doesn't care about that," but no, he does. He's stated multiple times that he does care about this stuff. TL;DR...the conversation about whether it helps his legacy is completely different from whether he THOUGHT it would help his legacy.
Yea, it's inconsistent. But what he did makes people unhappy and irrational. It is a lot to ask fans to appreciate the beauty of his game given the context.
What if everyone else in the galaxy also always did what was best for themselves and everyone's ultimate goal was to rule the galaxy? Would you criticize Luke for taking the opportunity only he had?
Except you're making a huge leap from "caring about validation from his peers" to "legacy". Assuming you're believing the things he says (it sounds like you do since you're using it as evidence), then he has been pretty open about his feelings - far more so than most players. And he's made clear (1) he went to GS because he loved their style of basketball and wanted to have fun (2) loved that validated him and his style of play and (3) wanted to win. And he's made clear by his actions that he's sensitive to criticism. He's clearly having lots of fun and winning. By all accounts, he's planning to stay with GSW which means he's happy with decision. Nowhere in there has he complained about his future legacy. So why make that leap that he cares more about that than all the other things, when he's been pretty open about his feelings? If he was so concerned about his legacy, he'd probably verbal-diarrhea about that too.
Again, I don't care if people hate him. Just be logical about it and don't argue that he's both too concerned about what others think and not concerned enough.
Of course I would, and I would give you 100:1 odds that the majority of people would agree with me. Economic self-interest is indeed the basis of our society, but it does not make for good stories. If you truly think that people would like Luke if he joined Darth Vader, I doubt this conversation is going to go anywhere.
Which of these characters do you think is more appealing? a) He did the same thing anyone would do. b) He did what no one else would do.
Why wouldn't I believe what he's saying? His peers doesn't just include current players, he even says that... Now, I could continue this post with noted NBA Hall of Famers and personalities basically spitting on Durant's legacy, you know, people that are really into the game that Durant said he needed validation from. But I won't, because it's a long list of these people... All of that is true, I don't see how that invalidates anything I've said. He's also been practically obsessed with Lebron for his entire career. Not my words, his. That he used to look at his boxscore nightly, scout him extensively, and longed to not be 2nd to him. Am I to believe that he just stopped obsessing over beating Lebron? That he stopped wanting to be #1 in this era? That this move had NOTHING to do with it despite years of him talking about how he wanted to be considered the best player? Fact is, I doubt 10 years from now, unless he actually goes to another team, no one is going to consider him greater than Lebron. They'll say the Warriors were one of the best teams ever and he was part of that, but no one is putting him in conversations with Jordan and Lebron. If you think he doesn't want that, I guess, but his past comments tells me he very much wants that and no one is saying that's a bad thing...just that the way he went about it isn't going to help him achieve that legacy of being #1...as he's stated that But to me this is also very inconsitent. You even admit that he's insecure...but now he doesn't care about his legacy? Now he doesn't care about what others are saying and just wants to have fun playing ball? You really believe that given everything we know about Durant? I don't know where his priorities lie and I never said he didn't care at all, that never came from me. I just know that he spent a good chunk of his career obsessing about being the best in the world, that's what got him this far, and now I'm expected to believe that he just dropped that to go have fun playing with the Warriors? He did this thinking about winning championships, that much is clear, no one can deny that, right? But do you think he would have been cool winning while sitting on the bench or being a 6th man? All these players, the great ones, do things with their legacy on their mind. Lebron did it when he left the Cavs for the Heat and did it again when he left the Heat for the Cavs. Kyrie thought about his own legacy when he left Lebron...just like Kobe kicked Shaq out of town because he too wanted his own legacy (and was hammered for it at the time) just like how Iverson refused to ever become a ring chasing vet also because of his legacy. It's kind of odd that anyone would think IMO that a great player doesn't think or care about their legacy. I think Durant's comments through his career shows that he cares about his legacy and I never said that him going to the Warriors is because he doesn't care about his legacy. I'm of the opinion that he thinks people will just see Durant 4-5x champion and that would put him among the best ever
Are you comparing you and me with a guy whose profession is to win games for himself, his team, and his fans? I've always been amazed how every now and then people would compare NBA player's job to an average Joe's job. These are professional athletes. They live in the limelight. Criticism from fans is part of the job. Besides, the point I made isn't even how I should make decisions for him. The point is how he cares so much about his greatness yet he made a move that actually hurt what he cares. Are you saying that we can't make that kind of judgment about a guy's decision? Of course it's his decision and he is free to make it. But you are saying that we can't discuss why a guy's decision is bad not just for the fans but also for himself?
KD is one of the few Warriors I actually like. My main beef against him is that he's on the Warriors.
