In fairness, Bosh/Wade/James all signed extensions themselves. So Durant has time to become the puppet master that those guys have been.
cwr2 is the one that said, "And while you do that, Kobe will be in the gym". The guy was replying to this tweet by Durant: http://twitter.com/KDthunderup/status/16956802630 . Then Durant comes back and tells him to get kobe balls out his mouth. Classic because it comes from a NBA player, who sounds like a regular joe posting on a message board. :grin:
I'm a BIG KD fan, I love his attitude and approach to the game. Basically, if the Rockets can't make noise I hope KD does. I was hoping they would knock out the Lakers during the playoffs.
+1 Been following KD since his prep school days at Oak Hill. Great kid and great ambassador for the NBA. Will haunt Portland for the next 15 years.
For as big a Durant fan as I am anyway, the single greatest thing to come out of this extension for me is that people will stop holding onto the complete and utter fantasy that Durant was EVER going to be available in 2011 free agency. Man, if I had to read the hundreds of posts from people who don't understand the collective bargaining agreement talking about how the Rockets (or [Insert Team Here]) could just go out and get KD, I think I would have had to kill myself. Dude was going to be a RESTRICTED free agent next summer. OKC would obviously be willing to match ANY offer for him, including a max offer. Even if KD totally wanted out of Oklahoma City, all he could do would be to sign his ~$7M qualifying offer and then would be a free agent in 2012. But, thankfully, we are now relieved of that fantasy. Good for Durant and the Thunder.
This guy should be the face of the NBA, the reason I like Kobe is not so much the flaws or greats he has on the court, its his approach and dedication to the game, you know ever summer even when he is 30 hes trying to add something to his game, his mind and work ethic and passion has always been about hooping. That is my big problem about lebron, he is about attention and fame, hes about being a billionaire, can't hate him for that, but I just respect Kobe and Durant, who get theirs financially, but they are about the game, their approach and dedication to it is unparallel, that is their priority. Kevin durant signs this extension with a small market team, quietly, and now he is in the summer league with teh assistant coaches supporting his team, its un heard of props to this kid and unlike lebron who came in reliant on athleticism for the first 5-6 years of the league, durants fundamentals in shooting are already there, and now hes building his strength so on, hes a ball player first and foremost
+1, even if u're a diva, makes sense to sign your first big extension for security against injuries. Nothing surprising about this.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! posted this on his twitter: :grin: he should have a 2 hour special on ESPN to declare this! and a cam crew following him for a week for a documentary! :grin:
Just to add to that, from J.A. Adande's report about this: "The math made too much sense for the Thunder. They locked up Durant for only $5 million more than Memphis committed to Rudy Gay -- and $15 million less than New York will pay Amar'e Stoudemire."
