Durant to Warriors

AMS25

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 29, 2008
3,122
Holland on the Plains
As an OKC fan, I'm OK with Durant's decision. Most of the fan base here are grateful that they had nine years to watch him play and develop into who he is today.

Durant's departure will make next season even more interesting. Will the Thunder become Westbrook's team? Will Westbrook stay or be traded? I do know that it will be fun to watch the kids play. Instead of expecting the Thunder to win every game, you can be pleasantly surprised to watch them knock off a quality opponent every now and then.

I sort-of feel sorry for Warriors fans. They may see some beautiful basketball, if they enjoy the sport from an aesthetic perspective. But, they will have sky-high expectations for their team and feel severely let down if the Warriors don't win it all. Plus, they are the Evil Empire now. There will be no more rooting for a team their management drafted and developed. They are loaded with legacy mercenaries, who have no attachment to the team's history but who are just there to get a ring.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,303
This caught my eye more than anything else in the article:

"Durant didn't want to be the leader anymore. The Warriors' "Strength In Numbers" mantra wasn't just a catchphrase. It was what he wanted"
That's a very interesting quote. Andrew Sharp also wrote a very good article about this decision and included a quote from KD where he basically said "I am tired of being 2nd, no more being 2nd anymore". When you combined that with his tweet about competitiveness, it's pretty clear that there has been a change with KD

There are a few ways to look at this
He could have been putting up a front for the media so he would get less criticism (remember this was during the LeBron super team era when everyone wanted "more competitiveness" and for guys to do it on their own), or maybe he went through a maturation process where he realized the most important thing was just getting that one ring no matter who you play with, instead of being the guy on the winning team.

Either way, all the quotes and articles you pull up about young KD don't align with the guy who just signed with Golden State. Who knows the reasoning behind this change, whether he was always this guy who didn't want the responsiblity of being the alpha dog but didn't want to admit it in a public setting or if something in his psyche changed over the long, grueling NBA season (especially when he was hurt).

One of the big reasons why some NBA fans, and basically all OKC fans, (Royce Young put this on Twitter and I completely agree) are so butt hurt by this move is that it runs completely counter to everything KD has said for the past 8 years. When you combined that with leaving your championship ready team to join with the big bad bullies who just broke the regular season win record, I think it's pretty understandable why people are perplexed by the decision
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
That's a good read. It's not from Aldrige though, it's from an Oklahoma writer Royce Young.
It's a good read, but it clearly relies heavily on sources within OKC management, who not surprisingly have an axe to grind. I would take everything in there with a very big grain of salt. Red Sox fans should be plenty familiar with the "anonymous sources trash departing star" playbook.
 

AMS25

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 29, 2008
3,122
Holland on the Plains
It's a good read, but it clearly relies heavily on sources within OKC management, who not surprisingly have an axe to grind. I would take everything in there with a very big grain of salt. Red Sox fans should be plenty familiar with the "anonymous sources trash departing star" playbook.
True. Plus, Royce Young is a Thunder fan turned journalist. He started off with his ESPN-affiliated blog, "The Daily Thunder," which he still owns and contributes to. Then, he became and ESPN staff member. He's still a homer, though his writing for ESPN is more objective than his writing for the blog.
 

RIFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
3,087
Rhode Island
What I got out of that article is that those surrounding him can sway how he views things. The biggest question will be how he reacts if they start telling him he should have the ball more and if he isn't getting his 25 a night it will damage his legacy. I think the 1 and done is slightly more possible than I thought before.
 

JBill

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 17, 2001
2,028
It's a good read, but it clearly relies heavily on sources within OKC management, who not surprisingly have an axe to grind.
Not sure what gave it away, Presti and his "perfectly coiffed" hair, his "quiet, steely confidence," or Bennett and Presti's courageousness staying at a Holiday Inn Express in the Hamptons.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,303
It's a good read, but it clearly relies heavily on sources within OKC management, who not surprisingly have an axe to grind. I would take everything in there with a very big grain of salt. Red Sox fans should be plenty familiar with the "anonymous sources trash departing star" playbook.
I am sorry but I really don't see that. The worse thing said about him was "he's impulsive". That's not near the level of calling Tito a pillhead or talking about how Manny Ramirez shoves elderly security guards to the ground after they leave.

I do think Young could have included more about Presti's odd moves and Bennet's tight purse strings (James Harden and Josh Huestis say hello) but those have already been written about ad nauseum. I thought it was a very fair portrayal of a guy struggling to decide what to do with the next chapter of his life
 

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,958
Saskatoon Canada
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adding Kevin Durant to a Warriors team that already had Curry + Thompson is like giving Kate Upton a 3rd breast. Nothing appealing about it.</p>&mdash; Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) <a href="">July 5, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Nick Kaufman

protector of human kind from spoilers
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2003
13,410
A Lost Time
Once again, Durant left money on the table and is drawing the ire of many sports fans like you as well as the hot takes crowd who is now questioning his character. And if the Warriors fail to win, he will be judged very harshly by history.

Once again I ask those being critical of Durant - is he supposed to stay in OKC if Westbrook is leaving? Or go to a team that has less talent?
Go to a team with less talent. Don't frontrun.
 

Sam Ray Not

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
8,850
NYC
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adding Kevin Durant to a Warriors team that already had Curry + Thompson is like giving Kate Upton a 3rd breast. Nothing appealing about it.</p>&mdash; Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) <a href="">July 5, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Haha. More like (in SoSH terms) having Emily Ratajkowski join you in bed with Kate Upton. Something quite appealing about it if you're the guy in the bed, and quite annoying about it if you're not.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,467
That Royce Young piece is pretty embarrassing garbage. Just a ton of amateur psychology and nonsense based on wishcasting by a fan turned writer.
 

PedroKsBambino

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 17, 2003
31,213
That Royce Young piece is pretty embarrassing garbage. Just a ton of amateur psychology and nonsense based on wishcasting by a fan turned writer.
I did not like it either. For me, the telling part was how little was actually new reporting/direct sources vs. his own speculation and narrative.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,467
Hmm. I thought it was a good read.
Maybe, but there's little actual content there. I mean stuff like... "he felt like he was on the outside looking in on the cool kids' clique." and the ridiculous descriptions of OKC front office guys was just fanfiction.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,303
Go to a team with less talent. Don't frontrun.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/seven-heavy-thoughts-on-what-kevin-durant-joining-the-warriors-means/

This sums up what I am thinking much better than I can. I think it sucks that the league over the next 2 years is basically playing for the right to be the Warriors sacrifical lamb...but my God, that team should be incredible to watch. Anything short of winning the championship as long as they have those 4 is going to be an epic failure
 
Last edited:

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,854
I have read this whole thread and seen different takes on this decision...but can someone please tell me how this analysis isn't 100% true? I don't care about the motivation or any of that but how in the hell is this not the textbook definition of front running?
And?
 

cheech13

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 5, 2006
1,608
I know the circumstances are different, but it's not like the 2004 Lakers, 2011 Heat or 2013 Lakers waltzed in, dominated the league from opening tip to Finals and walked out with the title in their first year together. There are all kinds of potential problems involved with integrating a superstar like Durant into a team like the Warriors without even getting into things like the quality of the bench, the lack of rim protection or injury concerns. I think this will be good for the league and next year's title is far from a foregone conclusion. If anything, this year's team is going to be worse than 2015-16 Warriors and we saw what happened to them in the playoffs.
 

Grin&MartyBarret

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2007
4,932
East Village, NYC
I think we all know that there's no need to worry about the Warriors. They're a finesse team, a Duran't a finesse player. And finesse doesn't win championships.

According to that one guy who says that here a bunch, at least.
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
I know the circumstances are different, but it's not like the 2004 Lakers, 2011 Heat or 2013 Lakers waltzed in, dominated the league from opening tip to Finals and walked out with the title in their first year together. There are all kinds of potential problems involved with integrating a superstar like Durant into a team like the Warriors without even getting into things like the quality of the bench, the lack of rim protection or injury concerns. I think this will be good for the league and next year's title is far from a foregone conclusion. If anything, this year's team is going to be worse than 2015-16 Warriors and we saw what happened to them in the playoffs.
They probably won't win 73 games again because a) the Warriors had to win a whole bunch of 50/50 games to get there last year, and b) they'll rest guys more next year after Curry wore down in June. But next year's team will be better than this year's was as long as everyone stays healthy. As long as they don't have major injuries, they will win 65+ games on cruise control.

Most of the previous "super" teams were old (04 and 13 Lakers) or questionable style fits (11 Heat, where both stars were ball dominant guys with shaky jump shots, 15 Cavs). All of the Warriors Big 4 are aged 26-28, and Durant's skill-set meshes wonderfully from a style perspective.

For an example of a "super" team that meshed well right away, look at the 08 Celtics.
 

cheech13

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 5, 2006
1,608
When you're done with it, can I take a hit off your pipe?
This team won't win 73 games. It's a moderate step back this year even with the amazing talent upgrade.

Kevin Durant makes the Warriors much, much better over the next 5 years, but I'm not sure that year one goes as smoothly as everyone thinks.
 

zenter

indian sweet
SoSH Member
Oct 11, 2005
5,641
Astoria, NY
This team won't win 73 games. It's a moderate step back this year even with the amazing talent upgrade.
"going to be worse" is not equivalent to "not win as many as 73 games" Not by a long shot.

The team won't win 73 games. But it's a much better team with a tremendous talent/skill/temperament fit in Durant. Barring major injury to at least 2 of the 4, this team has exactly one possible rival in all of basketball. Last year, there were 4.
 

cheech13

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 5, 2006
1,608
Would winning 68 and the title be "worse" in your book?
No, that would still be a historically good team.

The 2015-16 version of the Warriors was probably one of the five best teams in the history of NBA regardless of the metric you use (wins, point differential, ELO). To say that they may take a small step back this year isn't a knock on the Warriors, their title chances or how good they'll be. The reality is that they've already set an incredibly high bar and even acquiring a former MVP in his prime doesn't guarantee that they continue to play at that level.
 
Last edited:

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,958
Saskatoon Canada
I don't think they will be better statistically on offence over the course of the season. But by June it is hard not to expect them to be much harder to defend in a short series.
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
I don't think they will be better statistically on offence over the course of the season. But by June it is hard not to expect them to be much harder to defend in a short series.
Why wouldn't they be better on offense over the course of the season? They basically swapped out Barnes and Bogut for Durant and Pachulia, which is obviously a huge upgrade. Maybe Curry will regress a little, but quality offensive players' whose styles fit, as Durant does with the Ws, tend to compound each others' effects. And if they're smart they'll stagger Durant and Curry so that one of them is always on the floor. The Ws tended to rest Curry/Green together at the start of the 2nd/4th quarters and did not do so well in those minutes. That won't be a problem anymore.

Last year they had the 10th best Offensive Rating in league history. I think they are a good bet to break the 86-87 Lakers' record for Offensive Rating next year.
 

Devizier

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 3, 2000
19,475
Somewhere
The short answer is that it seems unlikely that Curry, Thompson, and Green will miss 3 games between them next season.
 

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,958
Saskatoon Canada
Even if Curry is Babe Ruth, the babe didn't hit 60 in 28. Maybe expecting him to be phenomenal again, may be reasonable, but some improvement from the rest of the team will be needed just to pick up the slack from his greatest year ever. For one thing I doubt he goes 33-49 from beyond 28 feet at any time this next season. That was a 56 games in a row type of accomplishment.

Basketball is not baseball where you simply plug a new guy in to the lineup. It is not like football where you improve on one side of the ball. Teams score much better in transition, so if the GSW are weaker on D then they lose a few more transition possessions each game. They will also have to take time adjusting to each other,etc. And as mentioned above injuries happen.

I really wanted then to win this yer because of all thew Bulls fans. Without Green's suspension or Bogut's injury they win this year. But, that shows you things can go wrong even if you are awesome.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,303
deep inside Guido territory
Crowder goes off on Durant.

Crowder was less than pleased with Durant's decision, in no small part because of what the Celtics divulged in their meeting with the former Oklahoma City Thunder forward.

"We were the only team in the NBA to beat both (Cleveland and Golden State) on their home court — the only team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics," Crowder said. "We told him that. We played him clips from both games and told him basically the scouting report of how we guarded Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) — our entire game plan, basically. That's what made me mad. We (expletive) told him everything we do to beat these guys, and we beat them, and he went and joined them. ... I felt like afterward, I was talking to Isaiah, like maybe after you sit back, you shouldn't have told him everything, but who the (expletive) thought he was going to Golden State, realistically? It was like a slap in the face for us, basically."

"That team is for sure the villain of the league," Crowder said. "Every other NBA guy, friends of mine, are really disgusted from how the league is turning on that standpoint. Everybody is joining together, everybody wants to go to Golden State or Cleveland."

"I'm looking for sure to beat Golden State the most, probably, but at the end of the day, our task is the Eastern Conference," he said. "We have to see Cleveland. That's where my focus is, that's what drives me. We have to beat those guys to advance."
http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/07/jae_crowder_boston_celtics_pit.html
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 12, 2015
1,885
Quincy
I love the fire he has, but in all seriousness, why would you show the guy how you beat him? That sounds like a seriously flawed plan for a guy they had no guarantee of signing
 

zenter

indian sweet
SoSH Member
Oct 11, 2005
5,641
Astoria, NY
Yeah I agree. Incredibly stupid to tell him the game plan. Trying too hard.
My hope is Crowder's playing the greatest game in human history: counterintelligence. Surely they showed Durant some stuff. But I'm assuming they didn't show all their cards.

Besides, all teams have their own intelligence teams (fine, "video guys" and scouts) who probably know a lot of the stuff already.

And then there's the Michael Jordan / Mariano Rivera theory - even if you know exactly what they're going to do, it doesn't make defeating it any easier.
 

queenb

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 6, 2016
236
It's just so self-serving and unfair to Durant. There's no way Crowder would be sympathetic to those same friends around the league he mentions who talk to him about competitive balance if the Celtics had somehow landed a bunch of superstars this summer. He'd say these are grown men exercising their rights to make decisions based on what they think is best for them and their families, and that the Celtics' ability to draw free agents is a testament to the work the organization has put in to make it a desirable spot.
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,335
If I can watch the C's and Warriors from my couch, dead tired at midnight, and "deduce" the game plan I'm pretty sure Steve Kerr already knows everything they could have possible talked about in the meeting.
 

SoxinSeattle

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 6, 2003
2,369
Here
Didn't the Celtics give up the game plan when they executed it in front of the other team? Crowder's fire is awesome. Let's hope for a full healthy season from him.

^^What he said^^
 

Fishy1

Head Mason
SoSH Member
Nov 10, 2006
5,872
If I can watch the C's and Warriors from my couch, dead tired at midnight, and "deduce" the game plan I'm pretty sure Steve Kerr already knows everything they could have possible talked about in the meeting.
If so, is this a humorous piece of self-delusion from Crowder (we've got the best plans! nobody can beat them! ask anybody!) or is he just playing the crowd?

Not a rhetorical question.
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,335
If so, is this a humorous piece of self-delusion from Crowder (we've got the best plans! nobody can beat them! ask anybody!) or is he just playing the crowd?

Not a rhetorical question.
He lives like he plays, all out all the time.

Without knowing exactly how it went down, I imagine part of the pitch wasn't really about strategy so much as "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? Fuck that, come here and beat them."