Sounds like Durant may be a locker room issue despite his talent and that Kyrie and Durant are BOTH hard to work with and that their marriage wasn't as happy as they thought it would be. Honestly, that Perkins interview changed my perception of KD.
The argument against Durant is basically what Emmanuel Acho said in Speak for Yourself, why do things keep going wrong for him? Why do we always have others to blame? First Westbrook, then Draymond, now Kyrie. He was compared to Halle Berry and all of her divorces.
This makes me chuckle a bit. Outside of Lakers to their star players, there is no such thing as loyalty in the NBA and this includes the Rockets (too soon to tell if we turned over a new leaf). Teams will cut you, waive you, or trade you at the drop of a hat regardless of how well you performed for them in the past so why should we expect any loyalty or commitment from the players. Same applies in reverse as well; players will try and force their way off teams in the same season they signed a new contract. In a world like that commitment starts and ends with contracts, so no.... neither LBJ or Durant bailed on their past teams. Harden DID bail on the Rockets however and Durant is currently bailing on the Nets.
I don't blame harden bailing if his reinforcement to win a ring is Rocket legends cousin, wall and wood. That's playing on a budget. Him leaving benefits everybody aside from the fans. Harden gets a better chance for the ring and tilman got his excuse to tank and field a cheap ass team, the thing he's been dying to do.
IMO the best deal that makes sense for the Nets and the team receiving KD is: Pelicans trading: Ingram, Dyson, cap filler, 4 picks (2025 Lakers pick + 2 future Pelican picks + 2027 Bucks pick) 3 pick swap. Nets: KD For the Pelicans: A KD, Zion, CJ core could be title contenders for the next couple years if healthy. For the Nets: Simmons, Ingram, Harris, Curry/Mills + whatever they get for Irving should be a playoff team and they stock up on picks.
Or maybe it's as simple as him wanting different things or trying to find happiness. He spent 9 years in OKC. He wanted to win a title, and spent 3 years in GS where he won two titles. Then he wanted to lead a team so he went to Brooklyn. All of those moves - he never complained about his current teams or asked out. He was a free agent and moved on. None of the organizations he left hate him or think he treated them poorly. For all the Draymond-Durant issues, they still seem to be friends. Kyrie is the first one that seems to have been a blowup that wants him out - and he seems to leave a wake of anger/annoyance everywhere he goes. Lebron similarly has gone to multiple places, largely because he finds it fun and wants to go play where he wants to play - he's also never asked for trades, and his former teams don't hate him (*Cleveland hated him at first, but that was largely about how he handled leaving). That's different from a Harden, who has asked out multiple times and never seems to get along with anyone.
This always cracks me up. “I demand a trade! Trade me to a loaded team and don’t receive any of their good players back so I can play with them! Also figure it out because you have to salary match my huge bag and the only players who make similar amounts are great players I don’t want you to receive or albatross contracts!” “Um WTF then??”
Sounds like something Halle Berry would say. Leaving Westbrook is understandable, especially in hindsight. Leaving the Warriors? Leaving Curry for Kyrie? Believing in Kyrie? Believing in Harden? It's just a fun comparison between two otherworldly talents that can't find peace.
Reminds me of when the Knicks traded a ton of guys for Carmelo. If he waited 5 months; they would have been stacked with long, switchable 3&D guys playing run and gun with Melo, Amare and Lin...
Dale Carnegie saying from his book. Wherever location you move to, problems always will be with you. Until you resolve them. Kevin Durant always wants a easy way out, instead of Leading the Way and staying committed mentally. Kevin Durant I don't believe evolved more than just Shooter. Didn't improve his passing and improve his Teammates around him, definitely should've been a elite defender with shot blocking ability.
Simmons is going to tell them he's mentally not ready to play next season. I would actually feel somewhat bad for the Nets if we didn't hold their picks.
