OT Durant to Warriors

[KemBuckets21]

If GSW wins, he'll be hated more. lol

who hates him? dude wants a ring...this is the best way to get it. I don't like what it will do to the competitiveness of the NBA, but he gets 27mm next year to join a 70 win team...

if he doesn't win - he will catch unbelievable flack.

 

[Adios]

On the flip side, this actually can still be an enormous marketing opportunity for Durant. Durant is the 5th most popular player in China.

 

[Adios]

who hates him? dude wants a ring...this is the best way to get it. I don't like what it will do to the competitiveness of the NBA, but he gets 27mm next year to join a 70 win team...

if he doesn't win - he will catch unbelievable flack.

People who like to hate others who are successful. Which is a LOT of people. Similar to LeBron but not as big as LeBron, at least so far. I couldn't care, personally.

 

[EBonz30]

They don't make them like Kobe anymore.

He kicked Shaq off his team to show the world and himself that he could win a ring with being the man on his team.

My God has the times have changed.

Durant new nickname Mr. Softie

 

[johnhuskies95]

Durant is not going to do "The Decision". And he's not leaving his hometown (downtrodden) team.

LeBron left a team that was legitimately awful besides him. Durant is leaving a team that had one of the 5 best players in the world on it in addition to a very good supporting cast.

 

[Adios]

They don't make them like Kobe anymore.

He kicked Shaq off his team to show the world and himself that he could win a ring with being the man on his team.

My God has the times have changed.

Durant new nickname Mr. Softie

I think there's more to it than that. Durant staying in OKC would have been good for OKC but there's more money to be made through the SF Bay Area, not just for Durant. Kobe was already on the Lakers. Sadly, this is exposing that certain franchises will continue to make corporations and players more money than others.

 

[EBonz30]

I think there's more to it than that. Durant staying in OKC would have been good for OKC but there's more money to be made through the SF Bay Area, not just for Durant. Kobe was already on the Lakers. Sadly, this is exposing that certain franchises make corporations and players more money than others.

This was not a financial decision, that's pretty obvious, he took less money, and Los Angeles would've been the place to go if it was about money.

Their is a reason why DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul are on just about every NBA commercial.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

People villified LeBron for joining Miami. It'll be interesting to see how this Durant move is perceived. Going to a championship team that's made two straight Finals, broke the record for wins in a season, and knocked his team out of the playoffs.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I was critical of LeBron for two reasons. Forming a super team is weak, and taking a pay cut to make it happen is weak. Same here except Durant isn't taking a pay cut, but it's still weak. If he wins a chip in my mind it will lessen the value

 

[Walker11]

Wow. Talk about a super-team. So who is going to be the #2 option? Klay is okay being #3? Draymond is okay being the 4th best player on the team?

What does Steph (and the rest of the team) think about the Warriors basically saying "Hey Steph (guys), you're really not doing enough on your own here. We still need Kevin Durant to win a championship"

It has been reported that Steph, Dray, and Klay have been recruiting KD the entire season. I imagine they are elated.

 

[EBonz30]

It has been reported that Steph, Dray, and Klay have been recruiting KD the entire season. I imagine they are elated.

Lol, wins 73 games and still aren't confident enough in yourselves to win without another top 5 player.

Oh that's right you choked just about a week ago.

Good luck next year.

#evilempire

 

[Scoe]

I wonder how the Cavs will counter this Lebron opted out he would be willing to sacrifice some money if it means bringing in someone else.

 

[Scoe]

I love it because sports are so boring right now, you can only watch so much baseball.

 

[David 76]

Three free agents conspiring to join a team, one with a TV special and leaving his home town vs one player getting a contract.
I'm happy for Kevin.
At what point are the GSW supposed to not try to improve their team?

 

[Matrim55]

This -- which came about 18 hours before the announcement -- amuses me, given how often we stalk potential recruits on twitter/snapchat/etc.

Social media matters. Canary in the coalmine in this case.

 

[eos91]

This is a problem with the salary cap / collective bargaining...

Harrison Barnes was terrible in the playoffs... He gets $24mm per year from Dallas and GSW get KD for $27mm. They should be allowed to pay superstars more but with a bad cap hit to go to a new team.

 

[Scoe]

Lebron gets more hate in general even before "the decision", Durant isn't measured against the all time greats the way Lebron is with Durant its can he win a championships with Lebron its how many can he win since he is the Chosen One, and King James etc.

 

[jayteeman]

Love, James and Irving won't be enough

 

[Ldandy]

I honestly don't like this move at all. KD is all offense all the time. Does GS really need that? They won 73 freaking games last year. How many basketballs do they think there are to go around with Curry avg. 30 and Green and Thompson both capable of getting you 20+ apiece? They got beat because they lacked physical toughness on the inside. Lebron overpowered them single handed in the final 3 games of the series. Unless they plan on moving Thompson for some physical toughness I don't see how this deal makes much sense.

 

[Ldandy]

Durant is not going to do "The Decision". And he's not leaving his hometown (downtrodden) team.

In fairness to Lebron, "The Decision" was likely 99% ESPN's doing with Nike's urging. As for leaving his hometown team, one could argue that he gave them everything he had, but knew it would never be enough. He literally willed one of the worst collections of talent to The NBA Finals versus The Spurs. He didn't owe Cleveland the prime years of his career where he could be chasing rings, if there was no indication that the talent level around him was going to be raised. Durant made an NBA Finals with talent around him in Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka, that Lebron could only dream about. Durant's decision reaks of if you can't beat them you might as well join them.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Hell, who is the first option. An on fire Steph or an on fire KD?

If you are OKC don't you have to trade Westbrook now (or at least before the trade deadline next season)? You are not going to find him a running mate like KD and he almost certainly has to leave once his contract is up. Call the knicks in November and offer Russ for The Unicorn and Rose (or 30 prime tickets to see Hamilton)..or something.

The Clippers for CPIII and Jordan for Russ and 3 futire first rounf picks...or something.

Are you insane? And under contract for a few years Jordan along with an all star PG for a couple months of Westbrook? Posting as working on year two of a rookie contract for a couple months of Westbrook? Isaiah Thomas isn't making the decisions for the Knicks any longer and Donald Sterling no longer runs the Clippers.

 

[nomar]

Gotta hand it to Jerry West he reaches out to Durant at the last minute and it worked, he reals in another star player.

Jerry West had zero to do with this.

 

[nomar]

"Let's going back to being competitive and going at these peoples!"

Until it's my turn...

"Well, I tried that for 7 years and didn't work out, so..."

Obviously I'm disappointed as a Celts fan he didn't pick Boston but man, signing with literally any team other than GSW (maybe the Lakers excluded) would have said KD wanted to create a legacy. Picking GSW means he doesn't mind riding coattails. I just think it's really weird. But I'm not a beta/follower.

This is 100x worse than LeBron signing with Miami. At least he was the alpha and led that team. And then he went back to Cleveland and really cemented his legacy. KD'll never be legend. He just guaranteed it.

 

[Dooley]

Stuff like this is exactly why I can't stand the NBA. It is the only professional league that teams consistently tank to clear cap space and to try to win a draft lottery. If your team is not one of the top 2 or 3 seeds in the conference, it has virtually no chance of making a serious title run. The superstars in this league seem to run the show, in terms of how teams operate and build. You can't sign a Kevin Durant without having Steph Curry. You can't sign any superstar without another superstar already in place to get on his knees and slobber all great it will be to win championships together. It is also the only league that 100% of the general public can tell you exactly who is going to be in next year's NBA Finals and be absolutely, without a doubt, correct. Warriors vs Cavs. There is absolutely zero incentive for a fan of any other team to watch the NBA next year or have any glimmer of hope that their team can reach the finals. They can't, without a boat load of injuries to the Warriors or Cavs.

I don't blame anyone from utilizing their rights as a free agent. Every player should be trying to earn every possible dollar he can get. It's when these super teams start forming that the NBA as a general product suffers. I haven't watched NBA basketball in years. I root for Huskies to do well in the NBA and that's it. The intrigue to watch the next season is lost before the league's offseason gets out of July. No other major professional sport has less drama or intrigue than the NBA.

 

[Rocktheworld]

In fairness to Lebron, "The Decision" was likely 99% ESPN's doing with Nike's urging.

Not to mention the event raised what, $3 million for charity?

 

[Kitaman]

How anyone can have allegiance to a team is beyond me. Stars come and go, change jerseys like their changing sheets on a bed. Hell, Rondo is a Bull now. NBA teams are so dynamic you need to buy multiple programs a year to keep up with rosters.

Makes me respect Kobe a little more.

 

[aceboon]

This -- which came about 18 hours before the announcement -- amuses me, given how often we stalk potential recruits on twitter/snapchat/etc.

Social media matters. Canary in the coalmine in this case.

Haralabob actually called it yesterday, pretty interesting that one of the sports world's biggest gamblers had this info

 

[superjohn]

They don't make them like Kobe anymore.

He kicked Shaq off his team to show the world and himself that he could win a ring with being the man on his team.

My God has the times have changed.

Durant new nickname Mr. Softie

Kobe is probably the biggest b I t c h to ever step foot in the league.

 

[champs99and04]

The hypocrisy from people on this sort of stuff is off the charts. The same people that slam KD for a "lack of competitiveness" are the same ones that will later decry the sport of basketball and the NBA specifically for promoting the star over the team. You can't have it both ways; you can't portray Kobe as an egomaniac and terrible teammate and then kill LeBron or KD for conforming to a lot of what we claim team sports are supposed to be about (sacrifice, team glory over personal glory, the willingness to co-exist with others, etc.).

Now, that being said, do I like the move? No. He had more than enough to win with in Oklahoma City, and when you join the team that beat you (in part because of your own shortcomings in game six), perhaps it does reveal some level of apathy about you as a competitor.

But I bet a lot of people in this thread don't have a problem with five top ten recruits committing to play for Geno (I don't know whether that's actually the case, but the point stands) every couple years. Somehow, in college sports, nobody has a problem with programs hoarding a radically disproportionate rate of top talent, and nobody questions the competitiveness of the athletes that decide they'd rather sustain a tradition of greatness instead of forging their own legacy elsewhere.

Self-interest always obscures the idealistic definition of team sport. Talk shows like First Take lead the way in cultivating a comically narcissistic sports landscape (how is such and such going to effect this guys legacy?!?) that is actually contradictory in more ways than one.

Stephen A. Smith can shriek at the top of his lungs about how this is the softest move he's ever seen or something like that. He's also the one that (and he's not alone on this) allows independent variables to skew his perception of individuals to extremes that perpetuate decisions like this one. It strikes me as hollow, then, when criticism pours in from the same people who will be the first to discard the nuance that a true dialogue on a players worth demands by covering their ears and pointing to their inability to achieve the pinnacle of team success.

 

[superjohn]

The hypocrisy from people on this sort of stuff is off the charts. The same people that slam KD for a "lack of competitiveness" are the same ones that will later decry the sport of basketball and the NBA specifically for promoting the star over the team. You can't have it both ways; you can't portray Kobe as an egomaniac and terrible teammate and then kill LeBron or KD for conforming to a lot of what we claim team sports are supposed to be about (sacrifice, team glory over personal glory, the willingness to co-exist with others, etc.).

Now, that being said, do I like the move? No. He had more than enough to win with in Oklahoma City, and when you join the team that beat you (in part because of your own shortcomings in game six), perhaps it does reveal some level of apathy about you as a competitor.

But I bet a lot of people in this thread don't have a problem with five top ten recruits committing to play for Geno (I don't know whether that's actually the case, but the point stands) every couple years. Somehow, in college sports, nobody has a problem with programs hoarding a radically disproportionate rate of top talent, and nobody questions the competitiveness of the athletes that decide they'd rather sustain a tradition of greatness instead of forging their own legacy elsewhere.

Self-interest always obscures the idealistic definition of team sport. Talk shows like First Take lead the way in cultivating a comically narcissistic sports landscape (how is such and such going to effect this guys legacy?!?) that is actually contradictory in more ways than one.

Stephen A. Smith can shriek at the top of his lungs about how this is the softest move he's ever seen or something like that. He's also the one that (and he's not alone on this) allows independent variables to skew his perception of individuals to extremes that perpetuate decisions like this one. It strikes me as hollow, then, when criticism pours in from the same people who will be the first to discard the nuance that a true dialogue on a players worth demands by covering their ears and pointing to their inability to achieve the pinnacle of team success.

Strange post.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I'll say this, I think there is a point of diminishing returns. If you have too mesh cooks in the kitchen, the product might not be as good as if you have 1 or 2 cooks in the kitchen. We'll see what happens but I wouldn't be shocked if kds gsw team isn't as good as the previous one