WTF!

I think it’s safe to say most of us said something along those lines the morning of July 4, 2016. No, it wasn’t because we are proud to be Americans on Independence Day. No, it wasn’t because Trump said something stupid (duh) or another Kardashian is pregnant (maybe it was for some). It was because the most prized NBA Free Agent since 2010 decided to leave the only franchise/team he’s ever known. It was because Kevin Durant joined the Warriors. I know I was shocked when my phone alerted me of the big news. The Player’s Tribune site even crashed (come on Player’s Tribune, get your SHIT together). I wasn’t shocked that KD left. In fact, I was kind of hoping he would. He was always too big for OKC. I knew there was interest from the Warriors. But after that seven-game brawl, I did not think KD had it in him to turn his back on his teammates. They were SO CLOSE! ONE GAME away.

The initial reaction is mostly about KD and his new teammates (here’s a thought, wonder why Westbrook decided against Team USA and KD said yes. There a
re two GSW players on this team. Sorry, make that three). The new Golden State Warriors line up is scary good. Offensively, they can get any shot they want. The ball movement and three-point shooting will be phenomenal; perhaps the best we’ve ever seen.  Adding Durant to that line-up is crazy. See?? I already got too caught up in the line-up. I mean, they are already projected to win 75 games!

 

His OKC teammates are probably really hurting now. I know the OKC fans are hurting. We all knew the burning jerseys would come (how cliché…that was so 2010). Sam Presti (Thunder General Manager) said they should all be proud of what the Thunder accomplished while Durant was there. He’s right, they should be. But now, I imagine most of them they think they aren’t good enough, well not Westbrook. The Thunder were good enough to win the championship. The last two years, KD and Russ both suffered injuries that kept them from the conference finals. This year, they were both healthy and we all saw what they did. Beat the 67-win Spurs & took the 73-win Warriors to the brink of elimination. I was rooting for KD to return. Rooting for him to try again. Beat the team that beat you. The Thunder were right there. They had two A+ players.

The truth is, that’s now how Durant thinks. He doesn’t give a shit that Kobe stayed with the Lakers for 20 years. He doesn’t care that he will lose fans. He doesn’t care. He wants to win and the Warriors and Jerry West  (why did you have to leave the Lakers…) presented themselves and the overwhelming favorite. Yes, it’s an easy path, perhaps the easiest. I wanted more from KD. Maybe that’s not him. I wanted him to stand up to the Warriors. Make a stand to the “best team ever”, not join it. Kobe was the last of a dying breed, raised by the 70’s and 80’s of NBA lore. Charles Barkley was quoted expressing his disappointment in Durant on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike.

“I was disappointed. I was disappointed like I was disappointed when LeBron went to Miami. Kevin is a terrific player, he’s a good kid. But just disappointed with the fact that he weakened another team and he’s gonna kind of gravy train on a terrific Warriors team. Just disappointed from a competitive standpoint. Because just like it meant more to LeBron to win one in Cleveland, it would mean more to Kevin to win one in Oklahoma than it would be in Golden State.”

Charles Barkley

Barkley continued and raised another point, which I will hit on in a second:

“We develop this thing where you keep telling these guys, ‘Hey man, if you don’t win a championship you’re a bum.’ I don’t feel like a bum. I’m pretty sure Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and John Stockton — we think we’re pretty damn good.”

Charles Barkley

The last point Chuck made really resonates with me, because he’s 100% right. We are all guilty of this. I hear it all the time. I see it on facebook, twitter and every sports site. “Michael Jordan is 6 for 6 in titles”. “Kobe has 5 in 7”. “LeBron is a bum, hes only 3-4 in the Finals”. In the NBA, we hold our superstars to this almost impossible mountain to climb. DeRozan said he declined to go to the Lakers because if he didn’t win five or six titles, he’s not as good. I don’t believe that to be true. I feel Laker fans would have adored him if he won ONE title (we STILL love Lamar, Shannon Brown, Sasha, etc…). I feel NBA fans are smart. We understand how hard an NBA title is. We clearly know how hard repeating (or three-peating) is. Winning a title is everything, but it isn’t everything, right?  We want our players to be loyal (but not all the time). But we really want the spirit of competition, and this moves goes against that in the biggest way possible.

In today’s NBA, the loyalties are to the players, to the friendships they make along the way. Isn’t that what we all want in life? Great relationships and a happy work environment. Durant thinks both of those are easier to achieve in Oakland. But let’s not crown the Warriors the champions yet. They lost Bogut, which could be a big blow. He was a guy who did all the things on defense, set picks and was a phenomenal passer. The Warriors line-up of death will be very tough to stop. So will Gasol, Aldridge & Kawhi (I hope). The Warriors did distance themselves from the pack though. The beautiful thing is, there is still 82 games that need to be played, and ANYTHING can happen.

 

For now, we will just sit and wait. And as a Laker fan, I will be waiting a while. There is light at the end of the tunnel for me though. In NBA 2k17, we all know the Warriors will be unstoppable. Take Isaiah Thomas’ advice, do not pick them (at least online).

If you use the warriors in 2k17 your automatically weak lol.

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) July 4, 2016

So, what’s my silver lining? The Mamba is on the cover.

Can’t wait to see what this season brings. Oh wait, we already know. Cavs/Warriors Part 3!

Thanks for reading.

–Brandon