Kevin Durant Sweepstakes

RorschachsMask

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I'm sticking to the facts, my friend. And Grant is in the know about fucking zero and likes to hear himself talk. That's your wishcasting.


I don't doubt for a second that Jaylen was part of the discussion for KD. You're Brad and you call--and you're clear that JT is NOT on the table--then of course Jaylen is...or you don't call. And you call because it's KD. I've said this here, in this forum.

Therefore, of course "Jaylen was on the table during the conversation between Brooklyn" is of course an accurate plant. I don't dispute that.
Thats all cool, and I don’t want to argue on a forum lol. I just don’t like being accused of 19th level wishcasting over a move that I’ve said I’d do, but completely understand why others wouldn’t.

The Grant thing isn’t much, but he says he’s talked to Jaylen, yeah? And Himmelsbach said the Celtics have been transparent with JB, so good chance he and Grant talked about it.

I don’t want to argue or come off like a dick, so I’ll end it here.
 

snowmanny

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Who the hell knows? And who the hell knows if it made it to ownership?

Here is how I imagine the conversation:

“What would it take for us to get KD”

“The two J’s”

“LOL, I assume it would be something like Jaylen, White and a pick?”

“More like Jaylen, Marcus, Grant, four picks”

“LOL again”

I would bet that Jaylen’s name came up in the context of general parameters being discussed and no formal offer was ever made.
 

Jimbodandy

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Thats all cool, and I don’t want to argue on a forum lol. I just don’t like being accused of 19th level wishcasting over a move that I’ve said I’d do, but completely understand why others wouldn’t.

The Grant thing isn’t much, but he says he’s talked to Jaylen, yeah? And Himmelsbach said the Celtics have been transparent with JB, so good chance he and Grant talked about it.

I don’t want to argue or come off like a dick, so I’ll end it here lol.
Yeah I was a bit over the top myself.

I love Grant really, but if you're Brad, you know how much Grant yaps first hand. Doubt he's looped in the same way that JT is. That's all I meant by wishcasting.

They called JB at some point and told him that his name came up.
 

RorschachsMask

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Yeah I was a bit over the top myself.

I love Grant really, but if you're Brad, I think that you know how much Grant yaps first hand. Doubt he's looped in the same way that JT is.

They called JB at some point and told him that his name came up.
Agree with all of this. And yeah I came off more aggressive than I intended lol, that’s not how I am as a poster. So I apologize, my bad. We see it differently, and that’s cool. If everyone saw things the same way, the world would be pretty boring lol.

The Himmelsbach article is the main thing that makes me think it’s ongoing. He’s VERY dialed in, and the Celtics clearly were the leak for his article. Him saying that they are in constant communication with JB and are keeping him in the loop really caught my attention, especially with him saying Jaylen seems to understand the situation.
 

Jimbodandy

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Agree with all of this. And yeah I came off more aggressive than I intended lol, that’s not how I am as a poster. So I apologize, my bad. We see it differently, and that’s cool. If everyone saw things the same way, the world would be pretty boring lol.

The Himmelsbach article is the main thing that makes me think it’s ongoing. He’s VERY dialed in, and the Celtics clearly were the leak for his article. Him saying that they are in constant communication with JB and are keeping him in the loop really caught my attention, especially with him saying Jaylen seems to understand the situation.
Those two factors definitely seem like the door might still be open.

I think that our desires sometimes color our interpretation of what's being written (which itself is vague and somewhat agenda-driven). We all do that. I can see how the wishcasting line (purely about interpreting Grant's words) was obnoxious. I meant it more in a dorky D&D way.
 

mcpickl

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Unless the Nets have the same fear of not signing Jaylen that people are claiming the Celtics have. Then it becomes 2 years of Jaylen vs. more control of Maxey
One benefit for Brooklyn, depending upon who else they would get back in a Jaylen/Durant swap and what they do with the veterans (Kyrie/Harris/Patty) if they decide to go younger and build around Jaylen/Simmons, is they have a path to having cap space next summer. If they do go that route, they could renegotiate Jaylens final year of his deal high enough to then extend him at his max off of that. The Celtics pretty much closed that possibility off by acquiring Brogdon.

At worst, if they tried that route and Jaylen wouldn't extend then, they would be able to trade him again next summer if he wouldn't commit.
 

RorschachsMask

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Am I missing something? He says he's talked to JB, JB is mature, the NBA is a business, and everyone loves him. What's the story?
There isn’t one, it’s already been discussed, was me being silly.

The Himmelsbach stuff was much more interesting.
 

JM3

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Those two factors definitely seem like the door might still be open.

I think that our desires sometimes color our interpretation of what's being written (which itself is vague and somewhat agenda-driven). We all do that. I can see how the wishcasting line (purely about interpreting Grant's words) was obnoxious. I meant it more in a dorky D&D way.
I desire for the Celtics to trade for KD if the price is right. As such I presume that they are still interested in a KD deal if the price is right, & that the price isn't currently right.

If the price never gets right, I expect them not to make the trade, & if the price gets right I expect them to make the trade.
 

RorschachsMask

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I desire for the Celtics to trade for KD if the price is right. As such I presume that they are still interested in a KD deal if the price is right, & that the price isn't currently right.

If the price never gets right, I expect them not to make the trade, & if the price gets right I expect them to make the trade.
This is where I stand, almost entirely.
 

JM3

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They were citing on some podcast (I think Dunc'd On?) that KD publicly supported Steve Nash after the season. They used that to argue that it wasn't really about Nash.

This support is a lot more lukewarm than I expected, though...

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/SNYNets/status/1518799326532808705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1518799326532808705%7Ctwgr%5E8e3e19d84f079d347604a3a817ff7d811d1c7c2b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-29279302212020414709.ampproject.net%2F2207281718002%2Fframe.html
 

Auger34

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Agree with all of this. And yeah I came off more aggressive than I intended lol, that’s not how I am as a poster. So I apologize, my bad. We see it differently, and that’s cool. If everyone saw things the same way, the world would be pretty boring lol.

The Himmelsbach article is the main thing that makes me think it’s ongoing. He’s VERY dialed in, and the Celtics clearly were the leak for his article. Him saying that they are in constant communication with JB and are keeping him in the loop really caught my attention, especially with him saying Jaylen seems to understand the situation.
I’ve never got the sense that Himmelsbach is that dialed in? I don’t think he’s throwing shit on the wall but I also never though of him as one of the main guys to look for Celtics info or that he’s super plugged in.

I will say that I love your posts here and they always seem very well thought out and not emotional. I would say that the “wishcasting” thing only seem like that to me because you normally don’t come out this strong one way or the other and it’s always data driven.
 

RorschachsMask

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I’ve never got the sense that Himmelsbach is that dialed in? I don’t think he’s throwing shit on the wall but I also never though of him as one of the main guys to look for Celtics info or that he’s super plugged in.

I will say that I love your posts here and they always seem very well thought out and not emotional. I would say that the “wishcasting” thing only seem like that to me because you normally don’t come out this strong one way or the other and it’s always data driven.
So fun off topic fact, my friends almost universally refer to me as the database. Which is funny, because while I’m very even keeled, I’m not remotely robotic, but I have to be informed about everything lol.

As for Himmelsbach, he’s gotten very tuned in the last few years. I won’t go as far as saying he’s a Celtics mouthpiece, because he’s absolutely more than that, but his sources are very Celtics centric. Very nice guy on top of it, FWIW.

I genuinely appreciate what you said btw. I put a lot of effort into my posts on here, for the most part.
 
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Auger34

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Personally, I can say that Durant is one of my least favorite athletes ever and if Kyrie never played for the Celtics then KD would be at the top by a wide margin. I think he’s a snake with a stunning mixture of being gullible yet blaming literally everyone else for everything. It’s a thin skinned baby trying to pretend like he’s some ultra tough Macho guy. He was completely blindsided by the fact that fans and players criticized his move to a fucking 73 win team. He legitimately thought that he would be hailed as some sort of long lost, important missing piece ON A TEAM THAT WON 73 GAMES THE YEAR BEFORE!!!! I can’t even begin to unpack how dumb, misled, or both you would have to be to believe that for even a second.

He found his podcast co-host by searching on Twitter and found someone who was sticking up for him going to Brooklyn. Please re-read that. That is so sad and pathetic that I can’t believe that Kleinman allowed it to be reported.

Bill Simmons is one of the biggest KD fanboys ever, and the only way that he could defend any of what KD has done in Brooklyn was comparing him to a child who was allowed to run rampant his childhood and therefore couldn’t be disciplined later. Again, Simmons was DEFENDING Durant when he made this comparison. He also doesn’t want the Celtics to trade for KD. That should tell anyone In favor of this move all they need to know.

The guy is a toxic personality who threatens to blow up any semblance of a culture by being around. We literally just got over the Kyrie bullshit and now people want to acquire Tall Kyrie?

He’s such a fantastic player that if he was 30 I would hate it but I would begrudgingly talk myself into it. But 34 year old Durant? Coming off of major injuries? Who is morphing more into Kyrie with every passing day? Who forced Brooklyn to hire the guy that knows him best in basketball as the head coach…only to stab him in the back when things didn’t go perfectly?

If the Celtics can get Durant without giving up the Jays or TimeLord then I will swallow my pride and bite my tongue. Otherwise fuck him and I can’t wait to continue to root against him
 

benhogan

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olderTall Kyrie is the most damning thing I've read in a while

definitely made me chuckle, not sure I can disagree with it
 

mcpickl

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I’ve never got the sense that Himmelsbach is that dialed in? I don’t think he’s throwing shit on the wall but I also never though of him as one of the main guys to look for Celtics info or that he’s super plugged in.

I will say that I love your posts here and they always seem very well thought out and not emotional. I would say that the “wishcasting” thing only seem like that to me because you normally don’t come out this strong one way or the other and it’s always data driven.
I agree with Rorschach on Himmlesbach.

I think he's definitely the most informed local guy. I think if he cared about self promotion at all, I consider it a huge positive that he doesn't seem like he does, he'd be the go to guy for TV/radio on every Celtics story.

I really like him as a writer too. I'd guess it's just a matter of time before he's snapped up by a national outlet.
 

Euclis20

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Tall kyrie is funny, but not remotely true. Durant is a top 15 all-time player, and heading into the playoffs last year was widely considered one of the 3-4 best players in the league. He's been at that level for the last dozen years, he's won two finals MVPs, he's 4th all-time in ppg (and is a far more efficient scorer than anyone who is anywhere near the top of that list) and unlike Kyrie, has never left anything on the court when he's played.
 

JM3

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Tall kyrie is funny, but not remotely true. Durant is a top 15 all-time player, and heading into the playoffs last year was widely considered one of the 3-4 best players in the league. He's been at that level for the last dozen years, he's won two finals MVPs, he's 4th all-time in ppg (and is a far more efficient scorer than anyone who is anywhere near the top of that list) and unlike Kyrie, has never left anything on the court when he's played.
To be fair, 6'10 Kyrie would be pretty tough to stop, too.

But yeah, KD may have his issues personality-wise, but he always plays his azz off. & I believe he is aware of the roundness of the Earth.
 

lovegtm

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"Tall Kyrie" is actually a really good encapsulation of what makes Durant great.

You never get Kyrie-type skills and shooting in a guy so long; it just doesn't happen.
 

benhogan

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Tall kyrie is funny, but not remotely true. Durant is a top 15 all-time player, and heading into the playoffs last year was widely considered one of the 3-4 best players in the league. He's been at that level for the last dozen years, he's won two finals MVPs, he's 4th all-time in ppg (and is a far more efficient scorer than anyone who is anywhere near the top of that list) and unlike Kyrie, has never left anything on the court when he's played.
Agree with the bolded facts, I imagine 100% of the Board agrees with it.

Not trying to speak for @tbb345 but the "Tall Kyrie" comment is in regards to KD exhibiting a lot of Kyrie's narcissistic behavior.

From the Celtics' perspective, the rumored player contracts are ~ a wash with KD's since
+ Prime year curve favor BOS players
+ JB's 2yr contract is below market + contains 2yrs of DVE optionality value to BOS (not to Brooklyn)
+ Smart or White contracts are positive value
+ BOS draft picks all have positive value

KD would be a sizeable offensive upgrade but Brad/IME value defense, culture, & depth more than the Nets. Wouldn't expect Boston to bridge Brooklyn's "KD value equation"

the Durant Sweepstakes probably bleeds into 2023 with the Nets starting the season with KD/Kyrie/Simmons...they get to see/hope winning cures all
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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the Durant Sweepstakes probably bleeds into 2023 with the Nets starting the season with KD/Kyrie/Simmons...they get to see/hope winning cures all
If KD is really serious about getting out, he can't show p to training camp and fully participate. Unless he causes issues, BRK has no reason to trade him.
 

Auger34

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Agree with the bolded facts, I imagine 100% of the Board agrees with it.

Not trying to speak for @tbb345 but the "Tall Kyrie" comment is in regards to KD exhibiting a lot of Kyrie's narcissistic behavior.

From the Celtics' perspective, the rumored player contracts are ~ a wash with KD's since
+ Prime year curve favor BOS players
+ JB's 2yr contract is below market + contains 2yrs of DVE optionality value to BOS (not to Brooklyn)
+ Smart or White contracts are positive value
+ BOS draft picks all have positive value

KD would be a sizeable offensive upgrade but Brad/IME value defense, culture, & depth more than the Nets. Wouldn't expect Boston to bridge Brooklyn's "KD value equation"

the Durant Sweepstakes probably bleeds into 2023 with the Nets starting the season with KD/Kyrie/Simmons...they get to see/hope winning cures all

100%, “Tall Kyrie” was solely about his personality/off court stuff/inability to be content in literally any situation.
 

Euclis20

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The problem with Kyrie isn't just so much the personality/off court stuff, it's that those things have bled into his performance and availability on the court. That's my issue with the comparison, the only thing keeping Durant off the court and at his best over the last decade has been injuries. People can talk until they're blue in the face about how miserable Durant made the Warriors his last year there, but the only thing that kept that team from winning 3 straight titles (in historically dominant fashion) was Durant rupturing his achilles. Durant almost single handedly beat the Bucks in 2021, with no Kyrie and Harden barely able to move. He had a rough series against Boston, but other than Kyrie's explosion in game 1, he had 0 help. Kyrie's off court BS has completely derailed his career, to the point where literally no team, other than the hapless Lakers, will give up anything for him (and the Lakers think they can get him while dumping Westbrook and his $47M salary). Meanwhile, nearly every team in the league reached out to the Nets after Durant made his trade demand. This despite the fact that Durant is 3 years older and likely a bigger injury risk.

There's a lot more separating Kyrie and Durant's extracurriculars than their height.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Durant appears s to have an amazing ability to compartmentalize given his consistency on the court. He seems capable of playing in Boston, even if he dislikes the city/fans/teammates (not saying this is actually the case).

Furthermore - and perhaps my tint is too green here - but Stevens and Udoka have earned enough trust to consider that they wouldn't deal for KD unless they were prepared for all that comes with it. Unless you think they are naive about Durant's history - and presumably they know him better than people here - if they do a trade, they understand the downside risks. On the other hand, if random Cs fans with a smartphone have a better handle on downsides than the front office, we are likely screwed in terms of their chances of bringing home another banner.
 
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Auger34

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Durant appears s to have an amazing ability to compartmentalize given his consistency on the court. He seems capable of playing in Boston, even if he dislikes the city/fans/teammates (not saying this is actually the case).

Furthermore - and perhaps my tint is too green here - but Stevens and Udoka have earned enough trust to consider that they wouldn't deal for KD unless they were prepared for all that comes with it. Unless you think they are naive about Durant's history - and presumably they know him better than people here - if they do a trade, they understand the downside risks. On the other hand, if random Cs fans with a smartphone have a better handle on downsides than the front office, we are likely screwed in terms of their chances of bringing home another banner.
Again, I ask this…

Don’t you think Steve Nash thought he knew what made Durant tick? He was closer to Durant than literally any other possible NBA coach Durant could have..how did that turn out?

Of course they know the downside and risks and maybe they make the trade…I just don’t believe there’s some magical antecdote or knowledge of KD the Celtics have that other teams don’t. The only thing you can count on with KD is that no one knows anything.

The Nets though they had more leverage with this trade demand because all of the intel was “KD loves basketball too much” to risk holding out or making too big of a splash…then he came with a flamethrower about their coach and GM to the media
 

benhogan

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The Celtics would definitely be screwed if passive-aggressive C's fans on their iPads knew better than IME/Brad. BUT I highly doubt that is the case.

If Brad doesn't deal for Kevin Durant that could also mean there was no price they would be willing to pay to disrupt the culture of this team.

Unless people are privy to conversations between Brad and Sean Marks we'll just never know.

AND the Port Cellar will continue to trudge on with Celtic fan speculation to the dismay of some...
 

JM3

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Again, I ask this…

Don’t you think Steve Nash thought he knew what made Durant tick? He was closer to Durant than literally any other possible NBA coach Durant could have..how did that turn out?

Of course they know the downside and risks and maybe they make the trade…I just don’t believe there’s some magical antecdote or knowledge of KD the Celtics have that other teams don’t. The only thing you can count on with KD is that no one knows anything.

The Nets though they had more leverage with this trade demand because all of the intel was “KD loves basketball too much” to risk holding out or making too big of a splash…then he came with a flamethrower about their coach and GM to the media
Maybe Steve Nash is actually a bad basketball coach.
 

Auger34

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The problem with Kyrie isn't just so much the personality/off court stuff, it's that those things have bled into his performance and availability on the court. That's my issue with the comparison, the only thing keeping Durant off the court and at his best over the last decade has been injuries. People can talk until they're blue in the face about how miserable Durant made the Warriors his last year there, but the only thing that kept that team from winning 3 straight titles (in historically dominant fashion) was Durant rupturing his achilles. Durant almost single handedly beat the Bucks in 2021, with no Kyrie and Harden barely able to move. He had a rough series against Boston, but other than Kyrie's explosion in game 1, he had 0 help. Kyrie's off court BS has completely derailed his career, to the point where literally no team, other than the hapless Lakers, will give up anything for him (and the Lakers think they can get him while dumping Westbrook and his $47M salary). Meanwhile, nearly every team in the league reached out to the Nets after Durant made his trade demand. This despite the fact that Durant is 3 years older and likely a bigger injury risk.

There's a lot more separating Kyrie and Durant's extracurriculars than their height.
….all of the stuff that you mentioned there is on court stuff?

If your position is “KD is so good that his off court stuff doesn’t matter” whereas Kyrie isn’t that good, that makes sense. That’s part of why KD has more suitors than Kyrie. (The other reason is that I think teams 100% believe that Kyrie would just straight up quit if he goes somewhere he doesn’t want to. People don’t believe KD will do that…yet)

.I think Kyrie is more toxic than KD to be clear. I also don’t think that your points invalidate the off court aspect of it nearly as much as you do. Again, all of that stuff is on court. The only thing you mentioned that is even remotely close to off court is that more teams are interested in trading for Kyrie than KD
 

Auger34

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Maybe Steve Nash is actually a bad basketball coach.
I’m kind of arguing in circles here but one last thing….maybe he is! That’s entirely possible! But that doesn’t negate the fact that he was supposed to know what it would take to motivate KD and keep him around right?
 

JM3

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I’m kind of arguing in circles here but one last thing….maybe he is! That’s entirely possible! But that doesn’t negate the fact that he was supposed to know what it would take to motivate KD and keep him around right?
KD doesn't need to be motivated. He plays his azz off every single time he steps on the court.

KD could have thought Nash was a good coach & then realized he wasn't. He had never been more than a "consultant" since retiring. KD could have really missed Ime last year & realized that he thought Ime was a much better coach than Nash & that they really missed Ime's presence this past year. He could just be throwing Nash under the bus because he hates being there & doesn't really care about Nash one way or the other. Who knows?

It's fine to hate KD & think everything that goes wrong is his fault, & it's fine to be a KD apologist & blame everyone else around him for everything that goes wrong. The truth is pretty much always in between.
 

EvilEmpire

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He could just be throwing Nash under the bus because he hates being there & doesn't really care about Nash one way or the other.
It could be anything, but I think this is most likely.

I think KD really doesn't want to be on a crap team that has no chance of being competitive. Might not matter who is coaching. Harden bailed. Kyrie has one foot out the door. Simmons can't be counted on. The rest of the roster isn't enough to do anything. If KD stays it might take a couple of years to build the right kind of roster around him to be competitive. If ever. And he doesn't have that kind of time.

I think that is why his people are talking about Boston. I don't think he really wants to play in Boston at all, but at least they're a top team. He'd surely prefer Phoenix or Miami, but he'll take what he can get. He wants to hoop. Really wants to hoop. But he doesn't want to waste his time putting up empty points on a shit team.

Nash is just collateral damage.
 

djbayko

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Maybe Steve Nash is actually a bad basketball coach.
Considering his recent offseason vocal support of Nash, it seems that Durant thought he was a fine coach until Kyrie wasn't extended and he decided that he wanted off the Nets.

Also, "Tall Kyrie" is both funny and accurate from a certain perspective. They're both prickly individuals who cause problems for their teams, even if Durant doesn't let it affect his on court performance.
 

JM3

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Considering his recent offseason vocal support of Nash, it seems that Durant thought he was a fine coach until Kyrie wasn't extended and he decided that he wanted off the Nets.

Also, "Tall Kyrie" is both funny and accurate from a certain perspective. They're both prickly individuals who cause problems for their teams, even if Durant doesn't let it affect his on court performance.
I posted the actual support yesterday & it was much more lukewarm than I expected. Like that's the least supportive you can plausibly be when someone publicly asks if they should fire your coach.

I was 100% ready to make that same point before I heard the actual audio lol

But it's still quite possible it's not about Nash at all, & I'm sure it's not primarily about Nash.
 

djbayko

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I posted the actual support yesterday & it was much more lukewarm than I expected. Like that's the least supportive you can plausibly be when someone publicly asks if they should fire your coach.

I was 100% ready to make that same point before I heard the actual audio lol
I think the larger point is that he's only bringing it up the Nash ultimatum now, and it's not just Nash but Marks as well. Nash's coaching isn't his real concern.
 

JM3

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I think the larger point is that he's only bringing it up the Nash ultimatum now, and it's not just Nash but Marks as well. Nash's coaching isn't his real concern.
Yeah - although obviously if you are a superstar who wants your coach fired, the 1st step is a private request to fire your coach, which I'm sure was rebuked.
 

djbayko

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Yeah - although obviously if you are a superstar who wants your coach fired, the 1st step is a private request to fire your coach, which I'm sure was rebuked.
Yes, I admit that it's very possible a private request happened earlier. I guess what I'm saying though - and this goes back to something we discussed yesterday - is it's very curious that it's both GM + coach and the timing w.r.t. Kyrie's not being given a max extension. His best bud is only under contract for one more season and suddenly he has problems with the team's direction.
 

JM3

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Yes, I admit that it's very possible a private request happened earlier. I guess what I'm saying though - and this goes back to something we discussed yesterday - is it's very curious that it's both GM + coach and the timing w.r.t. Kyrie's not being given a max extension. His best bud is only under contract for one more season and suddenly he has problems with the team's direction.
The weird thing is that no one really knows what about Kyrie is making him upset. Like is he upset that he might have to play with him after Kyrie bailed on the team last year? Is he upset ownership isn't taking care of his guy?

Or is he upset to be stuck in a limbo situation with 2 guys in Kyrie & Simmons who aren't really invested in basketball the way he is?

"I would be mad after a game, not having him out there,” Durant added. “Being triple-teamed or whatever, like Kai would definitely help tonight, but [mad at] him individually? Nah.”
Kevin Durant Gets Brutally Honest On Kyrie Irving Relationship - Game 7 (itsgame7.com)
 

djbayko

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The weird thing is that no one really knows what about Kyrie is making him upset. Like is he upset that he might have to play with him after Kyrie bailed on the team last year? Is he upset ownership isn't taking care of his guy?

Or is he upset to be stuck in a limbo situation with 2 guys in Kyrie & Simmons who aren't really invested in basketball the way he is?



Kevin Durant Gets Brutally Honest On Kyrie Irving Relationship - Game 7 (itsgame7.com)
Numerous reports on Durant's words and actions lead me to believe that he's mad that the team didn't support Kyrie and push harder for him, not that he's upset with Kyrie. Wanting out after not granting him a max extension aligns with that IMO.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
14,278
Numerous reports on Durant's words and actions lead me to believe that he's mad that the team didn't support Kyrie and push harder for him, not that he's upset with Kyrie. Wanting out after not granting him a max extension aligns with that IMO.
I've seen reporting on both sides. Including Woj intimating their relationship has broken down, Bucher saying things like KD nixed a Kyrie trade during the season but is no longer opposed to Kyrie being traded, Broussard saying a source told him KD wants to play with Steph again & doesn't want to play with Kyrie anymore, McMenamin saying his sources were telling him the KD trade request was more about getting Kyrie out than getting traded himself, etc.

& the other thing is, if KD's real issue is disrespect of Kyrie & not giving him a long-term contract...why not leak that instead or in conjunction?

I don't really know or care, though - it's all just tea leaves that don't really matter.
 

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
15,667
Sure I guess they can just try to coexist and ignore the fact that this will be a constant conversation in the media. Especially if the team is playing well.

Of course if you wanted to have three team leaders capable of tuning out a media malestrom of criticism and speculation, I’m pretty sure none of Kyrie, KD, or Simmons would be in my top 100 choices.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Lifetime Member
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Dec 24, 2002
48,204
Are there any examples of drama or media criticisms affecting Durant's play? Serious question - I cannot recall any.

Even with the well known issues from his time with Golden State - a lot of which had to do with his impending free agency - it didn't seem to impact his efficiency.

Perhaps I've forgotten a bad stretch but it seems like health, not off the court stuff, is what limits his output.
 

Smokey Joe

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Apr 9, 2001
1,155
Are there any examples of drama or media criticisms affecting Durant's play? Serious question - I cannot recall any.

Even with the well known issues from his time with Golden State - a lot of which had to do with his impending free agency - it didn't seem to impact his efficiency.

Perhaps I've forgotten a bad stretch but it seems like health, not off the court stuff, is what limits his output.
None that I know of. But that is not the issue with KD. As we can see with the Nets, having a star of this magnitude tends to warp the goals of a franchise from winning a championship to keeping the star happy. This did not happen in GS because they had a star of equal magnitude already and a particularly strong minded player that were not going to let that happen. Which is probably one of the reasons that he left. Now that the Nets are beginning to show signs of having a backbone, KD wants to move on and if he moves on to the Celtics, I am afraid that he will arrive with certain expectations and if they are not met, he will move on again. While he is here I am sure he will play to the utmost of his abilities.

Right now Tatum is the future of the Celtics and he is blossoming into the super star and the leader we all hoped he would be. If KD is brought in, it will derail that growth, Especially in leadership, as the team becomes KDcentric. This did not happen in GS because they had equally prominent stars and strong minded players. On the Celtics, they would defer to KD and we do not want Tatum to defer to anyone right now. I also don't want KD to be giving Tatum lessons on entitlement.(The wrong kind.) It doesn't matter how well he plays, in fact, the better KD played the stronger and more damaging the deferment would be.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,271
None that I know of. But that is not the issue with KD. As we can see with the Nets, having a star of this magnitude tends to warp the goals of a franchise from winning a championship to keeping the star happy. This did not happen in GS because they had a star of equal magnitude already and a particularly strong minded player that were not going to let that happen. Which is probably one of the reasons that he left. Now that the Nets are beginning to show signs of having a backbone, KD wants to move on and if he moves on to the Celtics, I am afraid that he will arrive with certain expectations and if they are not met, he will move on again. While he is here I am sure he will play to the utmost of his abilities.

Right now Tatum is the future of the Celtics and he is blossoming into the super star and the leader we all hoped he would be. If KD is brought in, it will derail that growth, Especially in leadership, as the team becomes KDcentric. This did not happen in GS because they had equally prominent stars and strong minded players. On the Celtics, they would defer to KD and we do not want Tatum to defer to anyone right now. I also don't want KD to be giving Tatum lessons on entitlement.(The wrong kind.) It doesn't matter how well he plays, in fact, the better KD played the stronger and more damaging the deferment would be.
I don’t know I agree with the last two sentences but everything before that is fucking 100 percent correct.

Basically, IMO, Durant is at his best (and can be dealt with) when he’s not in any sort of leadership role or position where he is a major part of the culture.

That’s why I’ve continuously maintained that the only teams that should be going after KD all our are PHX and Miami. For one, Durant requested them so there should be 100% buy in. The Heat have the well documented and well built culture with Haslem/Riley/Spo. The Suns have a short championship window and CP3 has a strong enough will to handle Durant.

I LOVE the leadership structure and players the Celtics have now. However, it’s still pretty new. KD could still help derail what is being built.
 
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