Durant signs with Warriors!

[CalPolyTechnique]

Dude, I grew up in Detroit. I'm familiar with the concepts of avoidance and cesspools. Thanks.

Fantastic.

I live in the Bay Area and know you don't have a clue of what you're talking about describing Oakland the way you do.

So you apparently know about "avoidance and cesspools," but don't think that somehow applies to a city like Oakland.

 

[Reality]

 

[ghst187]

I'm surprised the guy left. I really am. I think he legit loved the city and being the biggest thing outside OU football the state had.
How much lifestyle and all mattered remains to be seen.
I suspect it was simply the hey you are joining the best regular season team in history to go compete yearly against lebron in the finals.
EVERY year in the Finals.

I love OKC. As a Dallasite that wants 20 or so acres in Oklahoma as a weekend retreat, I really do wish he'd have stayed in OKC.

I am a bit too. Thought he would learn from Lebron not mimic him. Lebron got his rings but selling out your hometown just isn't cool.
Now "what if" GS somehow doesn't win a ring next year. SA already has Parker, Aldridge and Leonard, they will probably add Gasol, they are a good shooting guard away from being truly stacked and they already have one of the all time great coaches and a solid bench. GS has all the tools but now they also have a ton of pressure on them. They will lose Bogut, who's value to them cannot be underestimated, and Barnes, and they will have no bench. They could be an injury away from having the same problem OKC did a few years back.
And "what if" (gasp), Curry leaves GS next year and OKC, now with Olidipo, adds another really good scoring wing, Billy D coaches his butt off, and Westbrook resigns?

I think durant leaving would've made more sense if he wasn't already on what was probably the first, second, or third best team with oodles of potential and young talent and a great coach.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

barkley himself stated he'd have gladly paired with jordan to chase a ring and he openly wishes he would have.

did he?

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...-thinks-stars-kevin-durant-cheating-get-title

the headline is bull, I don't think Durant cheated anything, but the part about the satisfaction that comes from being the bus driver, vs riding the bus is spot on.

 

[bounce]

People judge players, right or wrong, on rings. They say "Lebron will never be Jordan because 6 championships," and discount every other thing that he's done in his career. Then they turn around and hate a guy for going after his best chance for a ring. It's not like KD is coat-tailing, there's a damn good chance he's the best player on that team. The only reason I don't like it is because I'm a Spurs fan, and I wanted KD.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't really have a problem with it either. I mean, if you want to win a championship and if, as I said in other posts, he's willing to do what it takes to make the Offense work, then it's a great opportunity for him to do that in GS. The West is going to be tough but it was before so guess we'll see how this works out.

 

[zrinkill]

I cannot wait till this Super Team implodes like the ones in the past have.

https://encrypted-tbn1.***NOT-ALLOWED***/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQkHKSxr8isnPGGreD7hMQ7a6cc1Ti3_sgQ3nUF7M0zhUGKarFD4Q

 

[vlad]

Its such a catch-22. On one hand you can argue its bad for the league in terms of competitiveness, market, etc. On the other hand you can't begrudge someone from choosing where they want to work/live if there is an offer there.

Interestingly this is GS just signing one free agent to their existing homegrown team. I wonder if Durant would have still left had they won it all, or at least made it to the finals. Sounds like he wanted to live somewhere new, so he may have gone either way. I also assume there is something to all the business opportunity potential in SF with all those tech shops and that stupid money out there.

Wonder if there is enough money and shots to go around in the long run...even if they are winning.

 

[vlad]

Here's a good article on this situation.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...-kevin-durant-departure-oklahoma-city-thunder

 

[jterrell]

did he?

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...-thinks-stars-kevin-durant-cheating-get-title

the headline is bull, I don't think Durant cheated anything, but the part about the satisfaction that comes from being the bus driver, vs riding the bus is spot on.

yes, he did. and actually they did play together on the greatest team ever assembled, the 92 dream team.
that's when they became best friends. barkley actually scored more for that team than MJ, or anyone else.

the friendship of course has since soured because barkley has made jokes about MJ's team building skills.

 

[joseephuss]

I cannot wait till this Super Team implodes like the ones in the past have.

https://encrypted-tbn1.***NOT-ALLOWED***/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQkHKSxr8isnPGGreD7hMQ7a6cc1Ti3_sgQ3nUF7M0zhUGKarFD4Q

I wouldn't say they imploded. They did make the finals that year. Only one team can win it, so it is always a decent bet to go against the super team winning it all. And the definition of "Super Team" is subjective. That Lakers team, for example had big names, but most of those guys were not in their prime. By name recognition they were a "Super Team", but based on actual talent and skill level at the time, they weren't a "Super Team" in my opinion.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

Lynn Bias,

Len Bias

 

[Hardline]

That's pretty crazy - who knows how long he stays there. Perhaps he usurps Curry and they build around him, or well in this NBA you can never tell. But I mean, would you be young, single and rich and live in one of the best parts of the country or in Oklahoma City?

Perhaps had his original team been in a larger market he would have stayed

I'll take Oklahoma City over any California city.

 

[jterrell]

yes, he did. and actually they did play together on the greatest team ever assembled, the 92 dream team.
that's when they became best friends. barkley actually scored more for that team than MJ, or anyone else.

the friendship of course has since soured because barkley has made jokes about MJ's team building skills.

I'd almost forgotten that Barkley coming off a monster year did demand a trade to HOU to play with Dream and Drexler.
He was building his own personal super team.
So, yes, Chuck is a hypocrite.

Had KD not been injured maybe it would be different but he is aware he is now very aware, he is mortal.
And he joined the 2nd best team, not the best, to go face this generations MJ(LeBron).

Chuck is forever ringless and it kills him. He isn't Reggie Miller, lifetime Pacer, type ringless either but he played in many cities and still came up short.
KD is very smart to not wait til he's mid 30s to attempt to ring chase. Do it now while his game has a real effect.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I'd almost forgotten that Barkley coming off a monster year did demand a trade to HOU to play with Dream and Drexler.
He was building his own personal super team.
So, yes, Chuck is a hypocrite.

Had KD not been injured maybe it would be different but he is aware he is now very aware, he is mortal.
And he joined the 2nd best team, not the best, to go face this generations MJ(LeBron).

Chuck is forever ringless and it kills him. He isn't Reggie Miller, lifetime Pacer, type ringless either but he played in many cities and still came up short.
KD is very smart to not wait til he's mid 30s to attempt to ring chase. Do it now while his game has a real effect.

Actually, I think these situations are very different. Barkley never had a team around him that could challenge for a championship in those days. I believe the Sixers went to the playoffs something like 5 out of 6 years in a row and never advanced past the second round. In Barkley's rookie year, he played with guys like Dr. J, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones, Andrew Tony, Bob MacAdoo and Maurice Cheeks. All those guys retired and Barkley was frustrated because the Sixers would not get him help. He felt like all that was happening was that they were going to ride him for all they could and never commit to winning a championship and he was probably right about that. By the time he was traded, he was playing with guys like Manute Bol, Hersey Hawkins and Charles Shackleford. I mean, if you take a look at that roster, they were gearing up to make a run for the top pick and the Sixers were going to trade Barkley no matter what. He had been on the block for two seasons already, for the right deal.

He didn't force a trade out of Philly to Houston. He was traded to Phoenix and later went to Houston, I believe. If I recall, the Sixers were coming off a losing season the year before and they had just replaced Lynam with Moe and the Offense was going to an up and down motion Offense. The thought then was that Barkley didn't really fit that style of Offense, which I don't really agree with but whatever. There were also issues with off court stuff. I believe Barkley was in court, at the time, for beating the hell out of somebody in a Bar and a few other things. The deal with Barkley was that he was just feed up with not winning and he would not shut up about it. The organization was tired of Barkley and they were actually more then willing to trade him at that point. Barkley didn't force a trade to any specific team and he didn't leave, he was traded. The big thing was that Philly didn't want to trade him to a team in the East so they had to find a trade partner in the West. Phoenix was that team. That's how I remember it.

In the case of KD, he had a team around him that could have challenged for a championship. He wasn't traded, he left and he went to OKC's major rival in the West. That would have never happened when Barkley played so I don't really see the two situations as being all that similar.

Edit:

Forgive me JT, you were actually talking about the trade from Phoenix to Houston and not the trade from Philly to Phoenix. My apologies.

 

[vlad]

I'll take Oklahoma City over any California city.

Different strokes for different folks, right?

 

[Manwiththeplan]

I'd almost forgotten that Barkley coming off a monster year did demand a trade to HOU to play with Dream and Drexler.
He was building his own personal super team.
So, yes, Chuck is a hypocrite.

Had KD not been injured maybe it would be different but he is aware he is now very aware, he is mortal.
And he joined the 2nd best team, not the best, to go face this generations MJ(LeBron).

Chuck is forever ringless and it kills him. He isn't Reggie Miller, lifetime Pacer, type ringless either but he played in many cities and still came up short.
KD is very smart to not wait til he's mid 30s to attempt to ring chase. Do it now while his game has a real effect.

Kevin Durant is 27 and you are comparing him joining a team that had already won a championship to 33 year old Barkley who joined Houston (btw, Hakeem and Drexler were 34) and 35 year old Gary Payton/Karl Malone who joined LA.

At that point in their career, yes it was an admission that they weren't good enough to be the lead dog on a championship team. Durant imo, is just too good to play second fiddle to anyone. Leave OKC if they don't provide a good opportunity, I just think going to GS is a cheap way to win one.

 

[jterrell]

Kevin Durant is 27 and you are comparing him joining a team that had already won a championship to 33 year old Barkley who joined Houston (btw, Hakeem and Drexler were 34) and 35 year old Gary Payton/Karl Malone who joined LA.

At that point in their career, yes it was an admission that they weren't good enough to be the lead dog on a championship team. Durant imo, is just too good to play second fiddle to anyone. Leave OKC if they don't provide a good opportunity, I just think going to GS is a cheap way to win one.

Not sure how to put this nicely so I'll be real clear. This argument may be popular but it is VERY, VERY stupid.

2 kinds of people hate this move for KD understandably. OKC fans and CLE fans.
After that there are just stupid people.

When a player signs a FA deal he is looking at money, chance to win, team culture and lifestyle.
GSW provided the highest marks in most of those areas. KD choosing them is surprising because it did mean restraining his ego.

Again, Malone/Barkley et al had NO CHANCE TO BE FREE AGENTS AT 27. It is the dumbest point anyone has ever made. The goofball instagram meme with 2 seconds of intellectual power behind is what started us down this line.

KD has every right to sign the deal he most prefers. He played his heart out for OKC but they continually came up short; sometimes shockingly so.
As good as Russ is, he was never an efficient player. He scored insanely well when he got volume shooting. Asked to function as a 2nd wheel and feed KD and he wasn't very good usually.
Instead it broke down to "Take turns" ball in OKC and that couldn't compete over the long haul with a better system.

KD has all the money he could ever spend. It would have been sad to see him chase a ring at 33-35 and fail to get one. To put on a jersey but not actually play any real role.
Moving now means competing for titles for years within this system he admires and with players he enjoys as people.

We should be celebrating guys who can put their ego aside to be part of a great team instead of crying.

These kids from about 7th grade on look to play with great team mates. Club/AAU/HS/College they all want to play with other great players.
Now its extended to the NBA and people seem shocked.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Again, Malone/Barkley et al had NO CHANCE TO BE FREE AGENTS AT 27. It is the dumbest point anyone has ever made. The goofball instagram meme with 2 seconds of intellectual power behind is what started us down this line.

you keep saying it, and using insults to prove your point, but this isn't true or at the very least purposely misleading. by the time the mid 80s came around, NBA teams no longer had the right of first refusal after a 2nd contract. First round contracts were typically 4 years, and at the end of his first deal Barkley was 25, while it is extremely unlikely that the 76ers would have agreed to a 2 year deal, it's incorrect to suggest that the rules at that time would have stopped Barkley from becoming a free agent prior to the end of his career or at least into his 30s.

But just to use a different player, let's use Shaq, who by the age of 24 was on another team. People for the most part don't hold it against him that he left Orlando, or even joined LA. The Lakers weren't a team that even made it out of the first round and while I'm not suggesting that Durant go to a bad team, I can say Shaq's legacy would not be what it is, had he joined the Bulls following that season and rode Michael Jordan's coat tails to a championship.

 

[LocimusPrime]

Different strokes for different folks, right?

To each his own, but I gotta say SoCal and SoFlo are awesome areas. The beaches, the weather. Can't beat it