Who cares what scrubs think? I doubt any of his Team USA teammates are saying that to his face. Either way, still good reasons
false the peers that actually matter support him and are just disappointed they didn't choose their respective team. but none of them are calling him any of that
but durant is part of that isoball. he took 31 shots in game 6 of the gsw series. while i personally think the russ and kd need to move the ball narrative is overblown, kd is certainly part of that narrative. and i also think it overlooks something else. gsw has a lot of talent. while the mark jackson to kerr switch showed us what a good offensive system can do, part of the reason it works is they have so much high IQ talent that can dribble/pass/shoot. not just from one or two players, but all over the court, and even coming off the bench. the other team always noted for their beautiful system, the spurs, has the same thing. the reason all the other teams in the league don't run these systems isn't just because their coaches are dumb, it's because you need a whole lot of players with multi-dimensional games who are smart enough to read and react to make it all work. look at okc. do they have that kind of talent? no. stephen adams is a really good finisher who seems fairly smart, but you can't run the offense through him like a bogut. roberson has essentially no offensive talent. ibaka can shoot but nothing else. dion waiters can sort of dribble and shoot, but you probably don't want him doing much of either. kanter can score and finish but isn't a passer from what i can tell. so it's not surprising that okc leaned on westbrook and durant to create all the shots for themselves and for others. the trade off was that okc had one of the most dominant rebounding teams of the last several decades and could put length and quickness on the court like no other team. and it got them a few minutes from the finals, a finals they may have made if durant makes a few other plays in filling in his piece of the puzzle. it's not like management hamstrung kd just because it wasn't his preferred offensive system. it still built a team that did a lot of things well. sure kd will get more open shots, but mostly just because gsw has more talent you have to guard on offense. and even if kd wants to have more ball movement, deciding he just wants to be harrison barnes and get open shots is weak. sure, he can do what he wants (not that you said this, but i can't stand the "kd was a free agent, he can go where he wants" arguments like this is a legal case about whether the CBA allows such a signing when it's obviously about competition and legacies), as long as he doesn't come asking anyone to respect his game or legacy after basically choking away a conference finals and then just saying "you know what, i don't feel like competing any more, where can i get a ring without having to do anything?".
yeah, recruiting yourself to the team you are currently playing in the wcf and then blowing the final 3 games to that team is certainly not a good look.
if they're not going to say that, then could they tell him to stop going 4/16 against australia and completely no-showing against serbia by only taking 4 shots in 30 minutes? although i guess they are all collectively trying to not choke away games to notice kd too much.
one of the rare times I agree with honey bear. but it's what they do, choose the easy way out before even turning 32.
The issue isn't him not wanting to stay in OKC. Not liking Westbrook. Or wanting to move to a bigger market. Move on --- you got 28 other options. Clippers Spurs Knicks, Bulls, Celtics, etc. Going to GS, given their regular season situation, far and away the most talented 2-8 team in the league, the way they came back from 3-1 down due to you choking, so you could have a stroll in that system, has the hype for you to build your brand (which will backfire over the years)... what... what what is the point of competition? Don't compare this to your lame ass job. This is competitive sport at the highest level. KD is a top 3 natural talent in that sport. As a top 3 talent in a billion dollar sport, you have obligations to the integrity of the sport whether you like it or not. Why not just join Cleveland if this doesn't work out? Why have teams? Your average fan is slow to catch on to this, but it starts a trend in the mold of free for all colluding, insider trading, etc. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you ain't got the cajones, the truth gon com out.
F4P pretty much nailed everything about this. The notion that the GSW were the only team that played the 'style' that he preferred is such a joke. The style you play is dictated by your best player(s). When GSW's best guys are throwing up shots from all over the place and making them while winning 73 games, that 'style' sure does look great. When the Rockets are playing beautiful offensive basketball under Rick Adelman but only winning 43 games, that style just isn't as appealing to free agents. I'm sure all superstars would love to get wide open shots. I'm also sure baseball players would love to have every pitch be right down the middle and quarterbacks would love to never have guys try to sack them. Unfortunately being a superstar means you're never going to be wide open. If Durant didn't like the way OKC played, he could have easily done something about it. Turns out he'd rather be a Rob...er, Alfred while being paid like a Batman. As f4p said, that's fine, just don't come asking for respect from anyone.
