I think it was clear that the KD/Westbrook duo didn't mix perfectly. What is disappointing, again, is where KD has chosen to go, not that he's chosen to go. Also, for people who would note Lebron did it, Shaq did it, there's always been one or two dominant teams in the NBA... yeah, that's true. Here's the KEY difference. Which team was likely to make the Finals out of the West next year before FA started? The Warriors. What would happen to the Warriors if KD doesn't join them? Well, not much difference. They'd still be one of the best teams ever. I get it, I know, they lost the Finals last year. Yeah, in never before happened, unlikely to happen again fashion that included a suspension of a key player and injury to another key player. What about the Beat Big 3. What happens if you take any of Lebron, Wade, Bosh off those teams. Do they win a ring? I'd argue no. At most, one (when they beat the Thunder, if that). What happens if you take Shaq or Kobe off the Lakers? do they win a ring? No. What happens if you take Bird of the Celtics, or Magic of the Lakers, or MJ off the Bulls, or Scottie off the Bulls, etc. If you take the top guy or the second best guy off any of those previous historic teams, they aren't championship teams. If you take KD off the Warriors next year, they're still championship material. That's a rich get richer scenario that has never happened.
It's funny how this is the common theme, yet when Lebron left for Miami, he was crucified by all. Warriors truly are the Golden Boys...
It sucks as a basketball fan - unless you are a GSW fan, that is. But even then, I believe wins are sweeter when you grind out close ones and there is competition. Heck, why doesn't Lebron James and Demarcus Cousins join the freaking Warriors? That'll be like the Dream Team versus the rest of the league. I'm cancelling league pass and boycotting next season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adding Kevin Durant to a Warriors team that already had Curry + Thompson is like giving Kate Upton a 3rd breast. Nothing appealing about it.</p>— Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReillyRick/status/750439070745047040">July 5, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Thunder beat writers podcast on the move Spoiler AS - Anthony Slater | DM - Darnell Mayberry | EK - Erik Horne AS: Fact he did it surprised me. Don't want to say I was warning you guys but I warned you guys. We should have seen this coming more than we did. Roc Nation, his comments, shoe release week in Austin, summer camp in Austin(normally in OKC), leaks about it being in the Hamptons . . . DM: He never said this is where I want to be, I expect to be here, I anticipate being here, etc. He never told us he wanted to be here. DM: I've had people in the Bay say this has been in the works for (as many as 3) years. That's why they structured the contracts they way they did. They knew he wanted to go there & this was a possibility this year. DM: He took the easy way out. Analyzing it, the thing that disappoints me about him is they were up 3-1 on the Warriors. That proved or should have proven to him you can beat that team and had a chance to come back with a better squad and go at it again. They couldn't close and it was largely his fault. It's not like he left because the pieces weren't good enough. HE wasn't good enough. He left a title contender for an easy shot at the title. EH: No anger. I understand. That said, I am disappointed. Anger & disappoint are separate & different. DM: Disappointed he left, disappointed from your job standpoint or disappointed at him? EH: Both. I & the city don't get the experience to witness one of the greatest athletes. I'm disappointed for the reasons you said. They were up 3-1. No reason to think they couldn't challenge them again. You want to see guys of his caliber elevate the guys around him. There was so much progress shown closing that gap, improved team coming back & to walk away to lessen the load, it's disappointing. DM: It's totally different if he goes to Boston. To be that close & make the progress they showed,... EH: (KD/Russ) Interesting to see/know their relationship leading up to this. What were they talking about? DM: With Russ: I don't think Kevin wanted to play with him anymore. Maybe, just maybe, there was something to the narrative all along. They were genuinely friends & genuinely liked each other. They gave it their all the best way they knew how but there were always moments of tension on the court. Durant in the corner, your turn, my turn, waiting for Russ to pass, Durant holding his arms out and slapping his thighs when he didn't get the pass. Even Kevin's family, they were always grumbling when Russ took over games. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't but you could see them court side frustrated with how Russ would be playing. Russ got better. He still shoots a whole lot but got better with his flaws. A big part of this we'll never hear, Kevin got tired of playing with Westbrook. That's a big indictment on Westbrook. AS: Maybe. Westbrook was born to play like Westbrook plays. He plays with that ferocity & supreme confidence. ... He's unlocked the best out of himself. The truth all along, the on court tension we should have paid more attention to. DM: Also most troubling, Kevin Durant, and why I call it a sucker move, Kevin was the face of the franchise. He let Westbrook take over that role. He was the one who could have said something to Russ and as far as we know, never saw him actually reign in Westbrook. He just left his own team to get away from the guy & let him have it. It screams to me Durant is not who we thought he was in terms of being a competitor, being a leader, being an alpha male. He's not that guy. EH: He's not Jordan. He's a Warriors-style competitor. "Strength in numbers." Steph Curry has a terrible series & he's okay to let Klay take over and let Klay do what he did or Draymond do what he does. You don't hear grumblings. He might be more comfortable playing alongside a bunch of guys who don't have Westbrook's personality. Not that his personality's bad but it's different. DM: He had numbers here. He would have had Westbrook, Oladipo, Kanter, Adams, Horford. Those are numbers. AS: What if it's not how he wanted to play? They're different teams. Warriors are passing, shooting, free flowing. Thunder is grit, athleticism, toughness, we're gonna try & punish you. DM: I don't get that. Durant had a choice. No one forced them to play the way they were playing, your turn, my turn. Donovan came in day one preaching ball/player movement & the extra pass. He had a choice to play that way. ... It was largely Durant's fault they didn't close out that series. AS: He envied the way the Warriors played. He enjoyed their identity. He's been eyeing that for awhile. DM: One other thing in play: you have a 27-year old black millionaire living in OKC. Maybe he wanted to go to a better city. Could be lifestyle thing. AS: He can be influenced. He has friends in his ear he listens to. DM: OKC is not San Francisco, NY, Chicago or LA. DM: I've long felt like this: Durant has been much more of a follower than a leader. The view I have of him in that sense bubbled up at ASG two years ago when he started going off on the media. He cozy'd up to Westbrook and started taking on his personality. Leaders don't do that. He became sort of a...he adopted Russ' demeanor because he was around him so much. That's fine. You need followers in this world but we didn't think Durant was. Back to what you said, he's easily influenced. I don't know if it was totally on him or people in his ear but I feel from my time around him, I viewed him as easily influenced & more of a follower than a leader. ... It's disappointment in him, knowing you were so close & could have taken the challenge but chose not to and it's largely your fault you didn't get back to the NBA Finals. It'll take some time to get over the fact he shied away from the challenge. When you think you know a guy & what he's about & what matters to him, it's tough to swallow. DM: He made comments & winning isn't everything & it's just a game. Now he alleviated the pressure from himself and no longer has the burden of carrying a team. He did have help. He no longer has the burden of doing it with Westbrook. He can have that comfort zone of 3 other all-stars, a team that won the most games in NBA history & won a championship two years ago. DM: (Russ/KD relationship/Howard Beck story) Writing was on the wall. There were always moments of tension that were clear for anyone to see who was paying attention. You saw the frustration in his face & body language. Durant had the stature to say something and didn't. He let it continue and ultimately decided to leave. That's a sucker move. I'm disappointed he didn't take more control as the face of the franchise & leader of the team. DM: (Russ)I would trade him. Unless he gives me assurances, I'm trading him. I might do it before the season starts. It's tricky though. Russ can walk. He has to give his new team assurances. I think he'd re-sign with the Lakers. People talking about Wiggins, Dunn, Rubio, he's not re-signing in Minnesota. That hamstrings the Thunder. They're limited where they can send him. AS: Are we sure he won't be willing to stay in OKC? DM: I don't think we should make the same mistake we did with Durant. There are a lot of rumblings, a lot of rumblings Westbrook has one foot out the door. There are people I talk to that said regardless of what Durant did, Westbrook is gone next year. AS: Maybe that's why Durant is gone this year. DM: Potentially. What would you do? AS: If you believe he's gonna leave or no assurances, bite the bullet. DM: Ingram, Randle & picks. Maybe Clarkson. AS: You need a three and a PG. Big man situation is set. Adams, Kanter, Sabonis - they're set. They need wings and a PG. The three is a gaping hole. EH: To score a high pick, Westbrook could fetch something.
Pretty damning stuff on KD from a legacy perspective imo From people in the know espousing opinions and journalists with first hand reports. What's the psyche remind you of? Dwight Howard. It's wishy washy. It's lamenting those other guys. It's saying what you think people want to hear. It's not leadership. OKC had it all right there. All they needed was one, one freaking close out performance from their MVP. No such luck. Because of the mentality.
I've taken a few days to collect myself before commenting. And I can sum up my feelings, using KD's own quote from not all that long ago. 'You the real MVP'. That speech, where he cried and gave love to all his teammates. That's forever a farce. Like a politician being caught out in a lie. Worse, even.
He could never adjust to that little man syndrome westbrook. Nobody likes a ballhogger even if they play defense.
i think this definitely played a big part in his decision. the inability of most of the sports culture to use more than one brain cell at a time to where only the people who win championships are "winners" and the only ones to get the praise while someone who is a better individual player gets all sorts of criticism until they have a title is probably why durant was willing to kneel and kiss the ring just to get a title. he should want to challenge himself to be as great as possible, instead he just wants to kiss the ring so he can call himself a champion even if he doesn't do anything to earn it.
Article like this strengthen my belief that KD's window for chasing the championship ring is two year most. If they won it all next season, he's gonna opt out and play with his buddies on another team. If they fell short, he would likely give it another try. If they did not make it to the finals, he's gonna opt out and play with his buddies on another team. Morey better stacks some assets and be prepared for year 2017 free agency. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome, Kevin Durant. Now about your <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/California?src=hash">#California</a> income taxes... <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Warriors?src=hash">#Warriors</a> <a href="https://t.co/MvlnSHX5WM">https://t.co/MvlnSHX5WM</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/sfchronicle">@sfchronicle</a></p>— Robert Raiola, CPA (@SportsTaxMan) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsTaxMan/status/750481192198307840">July 6, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
i get your point that better individual games could have propelled durant in certain instances, but i'm not going to get on durant too much for individual games. everyone is off in big games at some point. the guy b****slapped the spurs around the court in 2 separate playoff series. and was very good in his only finals. but that was when i rooted for him. now he's a loser.
maybe durant should have just manned up and gone and demanded the ball if he wanted it even more. he always had trouble getting himself open for passes and would let people push him 30 feet from the basket to receive the ball. maybe westbrook just figured he would go ahead and do something instead of watching kd slowly get pushed to halfcourt. beyond that, i've heard people talking about trading ingram for westbrook. that's crazy. you try to pair westbrook with ingram, not suck for 3 seasons just to trade ingram when you'll have cap space to sign westbrook anyway. if he wants to come there, you'll sign him. if he doesn't, you just traded ingram for nothing. it's so weird to me how being ball-dominant has suddenly become this big deal in playing with someone, as if practically every good scorer in history hasn't been ball dominant. that's kind of how it works, especially until you have teammates who can do something. even as much as lebron is known for passing, he is as ball dominant as harden (who also gets plenty of assists). you know why harden dominates the ball. because he doesn't have any teammates who can dribble without dribbling it off their foot. you know why harden wants someone to join in free agency? so he'll have a teammate that won't dribble it off their foot. and you know why westbrook dominates the ball? because there are only 2 people on the team who can create a shot and they should dominate the ball and you don't want to wear just one of them down like harden gets worn down. also, his main teammate doesn't exactly come get the ball. and even then, it's not like durant doesn't score a ton. in addition to all of that, ball dominant okc beat team-play san antonio. and ball dominant cleveland beat team-play gs. maybe ball dominant teammates aren't so terrible. maybe alpha russell helped add some of the energy and intensity beta durant didn't naturally bring.
He was horrible in the game 6 loss to the Spurs in 13/14 - his last playoff run before this. Maybe he's just horrible in important game 6's at home lol.
