If Warriors don't win the title or get knocked out before the finals you can expect Durant to be the blame. It won't matter if Curry goes 0-20 with 10 turnovers every game Durant will be blamed for them losing.
They didn't win the title without him last season... Will be interesting to see his role, and how everyone meshes. For sure Curry and Klay will see their scoring numbers dip, but on the other side of the coin KD migh now be option 3 when needing a 3?
Well, at least Durant didn't feature an ESPN special to announce he's taking his talent to the Bay Area. That's the whole point of people losing respect: wanting to do it the easy way. Durant isn't an over-the-hill former star. He is in his prime and has the ability to take a team to beat the Warriors. But he chooses to bank on the Warriors talent rather than his own ability.
More than ever I wish there was still a few dominant centers in the league today, on par with Hakeem or Shaq or even the Admiral. Because I think that's the only way (aside from GS having major injuries or chemistry issues) that another good team can beat this Warriors super-team in a playoff series. Silver's probably loving this decision by KD. Anyway, while Durant will be the best player on the Warriors, he should be aware that the NBA will still prefer the Warriors to be "Steph Curry's" team. Curry is more marketable to a more diverse casual mainstream audience than Durant.
I saw the video documentary of how Ibaka talked about how he enjoyed the company of his daughter and his teammates, particularly Durant, took close to this guide for raising a child even if it was a long lost or estranged one. I think Ibaka traded tore about that Thunder team for good. Great going OKC.
I don't begrudge KD for making this decision. He chose what he felt was best for himself, his family and his legacy and I'm not going to pretend to know better what decision was better or worst for him. But... As a fan of the NBA, i don't like this move. It takes away some ( if not most) of the drama and fun of watching the best teams battle it out for the championship. And while the Spurs & Cavs will most certainly still be great teams they are IMO not even close to equal to the KD/Warriors. As a fan of the Warriors, i will look forward to watching their pursuit of greatness and enjoy watching it. However some of that enjoyment will be tempered by the inevitable and seemingly determined outcome.
Will do the same as Lebron Go get them rings or just one ring and then go back to OKC or Washington and help them go to the Finals or win it all.
That would be the ultimate poetic justice if Durant didn't win a title in Golden State. Barring injuries, I don't see that happening(unless Bogut really was that important to them). But that'll be my wish all season long. The only thing sweeter than him not winning a title there would be if somehow a Westbrook-led Thunder or even the Harden-led Rockets were the ones to upset his Warriors in the playoffs.
Lol at people At this point it is just one or two years of ring chasing. ON BORROWED TIME. Not the end of the world
Definitely. I hated how those later Bulls vs Rockets games felt. Yeah it's east vs West but I didn't really like those. Jordan and Hakeem would have dominated being a big two. More Jordan vs Hakeem would have been great too but what I did get to see wasn't that exciting. I think he wore the alternate Black Jersey here too.
Not happening. At least not a return to OKC. The Thunder likely won't have Westbrook much longer and they'll go back into rebuilding mode. And I don't see them landing three #1 picks in four years the way the Cavs did to quickly reload in time for Durant to come back. Besides in four years, he'll be 31 years old and starting to decline.
Durant wants to win a championship the easy way...nobodies gonna respect that! He has no idea the damage he's done to his legacy. He'll forever known as a ring chaser. Ring chasing makes no sense...yeah you might get the ring..but nobodies gonna respect it! Yeah Lebron got two with the heat..but nobody respects it. It's Lebrons championship with Cleveland people are gonna take about. Even Lebron James haters gave him is props. I hope you fail on your ring chasing quest Durant! Durant wants to win a ring so he can get respect..but he lost more respect by joining the freaking warriors! Get a clue! No salt..only truth!
Well Lebron is 31 or 32 and he declined just a little but can still take a team on his shoulder. We do not know.
Durant choked in Game 6. They had that game won. They were up 8(I think) in the 4th quarter and only Thompson was making shots for the Warriors. Had they forced the ball out of his hands and had Durant shown up in the final 12 minutes, they would've made the Finals and likely won it all. It was on him more than anyone else.