Durant to the Warriors

[Cheesebeef]

So signing a team of HS all americans is a bitch move too? Or just when an NBA guy makes a move that is designed to maximize his chances at winning titles.

Like it or not NBA players get judged on titles, Barkley's legacy is diminished because he never won one. I'm guessing he'll rip Durant for this but he knows himself that had he done the same thing and won a title, people would praise him for the title(s) now. Reggie Miller said the same thing yet I know people who know Miller and have personally heard him say he wished he hadn't spent his whole career with the Pacers he would have liked to play on a championship team just once and it's a major regret in his career.

Think about it, if OKC already knows Westbrook is leaving do you really think they're going to hold him the whole year even if Durant had stayed one more year? They would likely still try to deal him to get something in return. The team this year wasn't going to reach it's potential because everyone on the team would know it was going to be broken up at the end of the year if not earlier. He put in 8 years there that's more than LeBron ever did on one team I think he's earned the right to try and win.

lol... earned the "right to try and win". His team made the WCF 4 times in the last 6 years, was one of the most talented in the league and led the Warriors 3-1. It's a bitch move.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Agree GS had to do it. Don't blame them a bit.

Total bitch move by durant. Was bitch move for The Decision too. These players are whiny and entitled these days. Can't win it with your team (which was a contender)? Go join a team that's done it already. Bitch move. Agree that durant DEVolved as a man in my eyes.

Only thing I can't fault is wanting to spend more time in Bay Area over Oklahoma.

 

[AsUdUdE]

For Durant who's been so careful about having a great reputation, today on will have one of the biggest drops in approval rating the NBA will ever see.

For NBA stars, you can't have it both ways. Spare me the "I think everyone has a right to work for the best company in the world and make money" argument... That doesn't apply.

All this "it's all about winning titles" talk... please.. If the Warriors win 3 titles, and those are the only ones KD wins, there will ALWAYS be an asterisk. Just like if LeBron had only won the titles in Miami, there would always have been the "ya you won, but of course you did you were suppose to".

Like Kentucky in the SEC. They SHOULD win the conference every year. I don't say wow, Devin Booker won the SEC his freshman year, that's super impressive!!

The Warriors are expected to win the title, anything else will be an embarrassment. Even if they win, who cares, they are suppose to win.

KD took the easy road to a cheap title, and in doing so in one fell swoop his tarnished his good guy reputation AND eliminated his name from being talked about as an all-tome NBA legend

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Agree GS had to do it. Don't blame them a bit.

Total bitch move by durant. Was bitch move for The Decision too. These players are whiny and entitled these days. Can't win it with your team (which was a contender)? Go join a team that's done it already. Bitch move. Agree that durant DEVolved as a man in my eyes.

Only thing I can't fault is wanting to spend more time in Bay Area over Oklahoma.

This is worse than the LeBron decision IMO (granted LeBron went about the delivery in a worse way). LeBron was on a Cleveland team that could never seem to put any legit talent around him and thus he left for a situation where he would actually have a chance to win. Durant just left a team that probably should have beat GS this year and would likely have been better this year to go to the very team that just beat his team in the WCF. That is a complete joke of a decision and he should be ridiculed for it much worse than LeBron IMO. What the hell happened to rivalries in the NBA!?

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

For Durant who's been so careful about having a great reputation, today on will have one of the biggest drops in approval rating the NBA will ever see.

For NBA stars, you can't have it both ways. Spare me the "I think everyone has a right to work for the best company in the world and make money" argument... That doesn't apply.

All this "it's all about winning titles" talk... please.. If the Warriors win 3 titles, and those are the only ones KD wins, there will ALWAYS be an asterisk. Just like if LeBron had only won the titles in Miami, there would always have been the "ya you won, but of course you did you were suppose to".

Like Kentucky in the SEC. They SHOULD win the conference every year. I don't say wow, Devin Booker won the SEC his freshman year, that's super impressive!!

The Warriors are expected to win the title, anything else will be an embarrassment. Even if they win, who cares, they are suppose to win.

KD took the easy road to a cheap title, and in doing so in one fell swoop his tarnished his good guy reputation AND eliminated his name from being talked about as an all-tome NBA legend

This for the most part. However, at least in LeBron's situation you can still say that he was clearly the best player on his championship team with Miami. With Durant though he will likely be seen as the 2nd best player on the team.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

So signing a team of HS all americans is a bitch move too? Or just when an NBA guy makes a move that is designed to maximize his chances at winning titles.

That's a laughable comparison. This is more like a kid going to say Ohio State and losing twice in the Final Four to Kentucky then transferring to Kentucky. Bitch move especially when a big part of the reason OKC lost to GS was because of KD's horrendous game 6 performance. Warriors were well within their province, KD not so much.

Like it or not NBA players get judged on titles, Barkley's legacy is diminished because he never won one. I'm guessing he'll rip Durant for this but he knows himself that had he done the same thing and won a title, people would praise him for the title(s) now. Reggie Miller said the same thing yet I know people who know Miller and have personally heard him say he wished he hadn't spent his whole career with the Pacers he would have liked to play on a championship team just once and it's a major regret in his career.

Barkley never took care of himself off the court, that's why he never won a ring nor likely deserved one. It certainly had nothing to do with the teams around him especially those mid 90's Suns. Miller was a one dimensional player, he wouldn't have been considered one of the all time greats regardless because he never would've been more than a #2 option on any championship team.

Think about it, if OKC already knows Westbrook is leaving do you really think they're going to hold him the whole year even if Durant had stayed one more year? They would likely still try to deal him to get something in return. The team this year wasn't going to reach it's potential because everyone on the team would know it was going to be broken up at the end of the year if not earlier. He put in 8 years there that's more than LeBron ever did on one team I think he's earned the right to try and win.

Again, he's winning right now. It's just a tad easier in GS. It's weak.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It's going to be interesting to see how things go with the Warriors. They were the best team in the NBA this year. If it were not for injuries and suspensions during the playoffs I believe they would have won the championship easily. It might have been best to keep their present mix of players. Theoretically changing Durant for Barnes is and improvement (duh). But you never know.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That's a laughable comparison. This is more like a kid going to say Ohio State and losing twice in the Final Four to Kentucky then transferring to Kentucky. Bitch move especially when a big part of the reason OKC lost to GS was because of KD's horrendous game 6 performance. Warriors were well within their province, KD not so much.


Barkley never took care of himself off the court, that's why he never won a ring nor likely deserved one. It certainly had nothing to do with the teams around him especially those mid 90's Suns. Miller was a one dimensional player, he wouldn't have been considered one of the all time greats regardless because he never would've been more than a #2 option on any championship team.


Again, he's winning right now. It's just a tad easier in GS. It's weak.

Pretty much all of this.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm one of the biggest critics of Kevin Durant the player and Kevin Durant the person but I simply don't have a problem with what he did here. It's a "bitch move" because he did what was best for him? Unreal. It's not like he threw a temper tantrum and demanded to be traded. He put in 9 years in a small market and wanted his chance at fame and a ring. Big deal. In 10 years no one, and I mean no one of consequence, will be discounting whatever he accomplishes. We've seen obvious ring grabs before and when it's worked out, that guy gets to retire with Champion on his resume and everything else is just noise.

 

[Chaplin]

Durant went off on Lebron back during the Decision, so it's funny what's going on now.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Where was this uproar when Aldridge left a good, up and coming team, one where he was clearly the star (or Co Star) to become a cog in a perennial Championship contending team?

He wanted out of OKC, having given that tiny market what is likely the best years of his pro career. So where's he to go to make you guys happy? Should he have come to Phoenix and been "the man" on a bad team? How about if he'd joined Horford in Boston? Would that have appeased you? Or do you think he just had no right to leave OKC?

 

[Cheesebeef]

For Durant who's been so careful about having a great reputation, today on will have one of the biggest drops in approval rating the NBA will ever see.

For NBA stars, you can't have it both ways. Spare me the "I think everyone has a right to work for the best company in the world and make money" argument... That doesn't apply.

All this "it's all about winning titles" talk... please.. If the Warriors win 3 titles, and those are the only ones KD wins, there will ALWAYS be an asterisk. Just like if LeBron had only won the titles in Miami, there would always have been the "ya you won, but of course you did you were suppose to".

Like Kentucky in the SEC. They SHOULD win the conference every year. I don't say wow, Devin Booker won the SEC his freshman year, that's super impressive!!

The Warriors are expected to win the title, anything else will be an embarrassment. Even if they win, who cares, they are suppose to win.

KD took the easy road to a cheap title, and in doing so in one fell swoop his tarnished his good guy reputation AND eliminated his name from being talked about as an all-tome NBA legend

I don't think he tamished his good guy rep. More so his competitive rep.

And Russ, for all the "only thing anyone cares about is titles" comment, you need only look t LeBron for proof that's not the case. Even though he won two titles and went to 5 straight finals, while continually being incredible, there were still a MASSIVE amount of detractors for the guy until he did what he did this year, without the super team.

Being THE guy, and carrying a team to a title is what separates the men from the boys in all time discussions. KD is now firmly in second fiddle position, going to a team that's already won a title without him. That's gravy training and will always keep him from being discussed amongst the best of the best.

 

[Cheesebeef]

And don't get me wrong... As a Warriors fan, I'd be stoked. But that doesn't mean you can't be objective about how this colors Durant.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Durant went off on Lebron back during the Decision, so it's funny what's going on now.

Lebron circumvented the perceived spirit of the rules when he and 2 other stars decided to form a super trio. Other than the way it was announced though, it was just a new way to do what's always been done and looks like much less of an issue today. But Durant did none of that, he simply did what every free agent has always done. He looked at his choices and took the one he liked the best.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Where was this uproar when Aldridge left a good, up and coming team, one where he was clearly the star (or Co Star) to become a cog in a perennial Championship contending team?

He wanted out of OKC, having given that tiny market what is likely the best years of his pro career. So where's he to go to make you guys happy? Should he have come to Phoenix and been "the man" on a bad team? How about if he'd joined Horford in Boston? Would that have appeased you? Or do you think he just had no right to leave OKC?

Aldridge has never been a) on a team that routinely got to the WCF and b) has never been mentioned as a guy who could be an all-timer and c) went to a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs the previous year and were on their way down without him.

He was a multiple time All-Star who had proven he couldn't carry a team anywhere. Not a perennial MVP candidate, future
HOFer playing on one of the top 4 teams (every year)... Leaving to go to a team who won the most games ever and were two minutes away from a back to back title.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Lebron circumvented the perceived spirit of the rules when he and 2 other stars decided to form a super trio. Other than the way it was announced though, it was just a new way to do what's always been done and looks like much less of an issue today. But Durant did none of that, he simply did what every free agent has always done. He looked at his choices and took the one he liked the best.

and easiest road to a title. Which is fine, but questioning his competitive drive after doing so is completely justified.

 

[AsUdUdE]

I don't think he tamished his good guy rep. More so his competitive rep.

And Russ, for all the "only thing anyone cares about is titles" comment, you need only look t LeBron for proof that's not the case. Even though he won two titles and went to 5 straight finals, while continually being incredible, there were still a MASSIVE amount of detractors for the guy until he did what he did this year, without the super team.

Being THE guy, and carrying a team to a title is what separates the men from the boys in all time discussions. KD is now firmly in second fiddle position, going to a team that's already won a title without him. That's gravy training and will always keep him from being discussed amongst the best of the best.

This. On every level is spot on.

I was one of if not the biggest critic of LeBron leaving to form a super team simply to win titles.

But what he did this year, shut me up for good. Even though he took the cheap way out for his first two, he went back and won the title the way NBA stars SHOULD. I respect that. But at least James had a reason to leave and then come back. Even if KD wins three titles and tries to go back to OKC, I don't think it would earn the respect LeBron did this past year either

 

[AzStevenCal]

Aldridge has never been a) on a team that routinely got to the WCF and b) has never been mentioned as a guy who could be an all-timer and c) went to a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs the previous year and were on their way down without him.

He was a multiple time All-Star who had proven he couldn't carry a team anywhere. Not a perennial MVP candidate, future
HOFer playing on one of the top 4 teams (every year)... Leaving to go to a team who won the most games ever and were two minutes away from a back to back title.

Durant had 9 seasons and never won a championship. Aldridge went to a team that was just one season removed from being one of the best teams ever, a team that had a history of following a great year with a disappointing year. A team that had a Superstar poised to take over Lebron's crown in a year or two. away.

 

[AzStevenCal]

This. On every level is spot on.

I was one of if not the biggest critic of LeBron leaving to form a super team simply to win titles.

But what he did this year, shut me up for good. Even though he took the cheap way out for his first two, he went back and won the title the way NBA stars SHOULD. I respect that. But at least James had a reason to leave and then come back. Even if KD wins three titles and tries to go back to OKC, I don't think it would earn the respect LeBron did this past year either

He joined a team loaded with assets after watching the other 2 members of his trio decline from age and health. He was smarter about the way he handled his "power move" but I can't believe you guys are praising him for winning it all with a team loaded with recent top 5 picks (5 of them), two of which they traded for Love, a player considered to be among the game's best until he moved to Cleveland.

Lebron stepped it up when it counted but he's done that before. Injuries are part of the game but they beat a team that was clearly limping through the playoffs. He proved nothing to me. But he needed to prove nothing to me. AFAIC, he'd already shown the basketball world he was one of the all time greats.

 

[Russ Smith]

lol... earned the "right to try and win". His team made the WCF 4 times in the last 6 years, was one of the most talented in the league and led the Warriors 3-1. It's a bitch move.

Sure but look. They already lost Harden because of money. They were going to trade Ibaka because of money regardless of what happened to Durant. He's basically apparently been told Westbrook was going to leave and presumably for the same reason, he knows OKC is too small market to be able to afford to keep together the players they need to compete with the Warriors and San Antonio etc in the West.

6 years ago Durant criticized LeBron for going to Miami, I think now he gets it. Even if OKC has a championship caliber team, and they did, it's not going to stay together very long because of money and he'd prefer to go somewhere where that might last longer, which is the Warriors.

 

[Russ Smith]

Agree GS had to do it. Don't blame them a bit.

Total bitch move by durant. Was bitch move for The Decision too. These players are whiny and entitled these days. Can't win it with your team (which was a contender)? Go join a team that's done it already. Bitch move. Agree that durant DEVolved as a man in my eyes.

Only thing I can't fault is wanting to spend more time in Bay Area over Oklahoma.

Not picking on you I'm trying to find where the line is. Was Shaq a bitch move leaving Orlando for the Lakers?

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Sure but look. They already lost Harden because of money. They were going to trade Ibaka because of money regardless of what happened to Durant. He's basically apparently been told Westbrook was going to leave and presumably for the same reason, he knows OKC is too small market to be able to afford to keep together the players they need to compete with the Warriors and San Antonio etc in the West.

6 years ago Durant criticized LeBron for going to Miami, I think now he gets it. Even if OKC has a championship caliber team, and they did, it's not going to stay together very long because of money and he'd prefer to go somewhere where that might last longer, which is the Warriors.

The problem that most of us have isn't because he left the Thunder, but because he chose to go to the Warriors. He is a top 3 player in the league joining another top 3 player in the league and a team in the Warriors that were already title favorite without him this season. To top it off it is the same team that he was up 3-1 against in the WCF just weeks ago. From a competitive stand point it is about as weak as it gets and that is why he is getting hate for it.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Not picking on you I'm trying to find where the line is. Was Shaq a bitch move leaving Orlando for the Lakers?

The Lakers had won 53 games the year before they got Shaq and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Nowhere near the same situation.

I would say the line is when you are one of the absolute best players in the league and you join both the likely best team in the league and your rival that you just lost to. He could have gone to just about any other team, but the Warriors and he wouldn't be getting nearly as much flack for it.

 

[Russ Smith]

That's a laughable comparison. This is more like a kid going to say Ohio State and losing twice in the Final Four to Kentucky then transferring to Kentucky. Bitch move especially when a big part of the reason OKC lost to GS was because of KD's horrendous game 6 performance. Warriors were well within their province, KD not so much.


Barkley never took care of himself off the court, that's why he never won a ring nor likely deserved one. It certainly had nothing to do with the teams around him especially those mid 90's Suns. Miller was a one dimensional player, he wouldn't have been considered one of the all time greats regardless because he never would've been more than a #2 option on any championship team.


Again, he's winning right now. It's just a tad easier in GS. It's weak.

So it's ok for a great player to be with other great players in HS or college but in the NBA he can't. Was Shaq going to the Lakers a bitch move? Was kareem forcing the Bucks to trade him to the Lakers a bitch move? Was Lebron going to Miami a bitch move. I'm trying to see what parameters you use to decide.

clearly you're fine with a kid leaving his local HS team to go play at a prepschool with other stars. And you're fine with him joining other stars in the college game to improve his chances of winning.

Durant knew OKC was going to be broken up, he knew it was when not if, so he decided to go now rather than wait a year.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Not picking on you I'm trying to find where the line is. Was Shaq a bitch move leaving Orlando for the Lakers?

The 53 win Lakers? As opposed to the 60 win LOADED Magic team? Are you really comparing a 73 win team, back to back finalist with multiple coach of the years and two time MVP to a Del Harris, Nick Van Exel led 53 win team who had lost in the first round of the playoffs? That is a laughable question.

No, Shaq went somewhere WORSE then where he was to be the man and take the franchise to a title.