Durant Signing With Warriors

[Malibu]

The Thunder "had" their super team when they had a young nucleus of Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka. But instead they chose not to pay the luxury tax and traded Harden and Ibaka and now Durant is gone.

Had Harden been extended and KD, WB, Harden and Ibaka would have developed together. They would have won a title by now.

They would have had what the Warriors have now. 4 stars that can score, shoot, and play defense.

This one is on the OKC front office and management.

Disagree and once again when did Harden become a superstar? Seriously Harden takes terrible shots and my son defends better then he does. He is no superstar. If Durant resigned with the Thunder with there moves they just made they would have been the team to beat in the West. Peace.

 

[Malibu]

The addition of Oladipo and Sabonis with the bigs they already have and Durant back would have made them better this upcoming year. Oh well it is what it is. Peace.

 

[thunderc]

The Thunder "had" their super team when they had a young nucleus of Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka. But instead they chose not to pay the luxury tax and traded Harden and Ibaka and now Durant is gone.

Had Harden been extended and KD, WB, Harden and Ibaka would have developed together. They would have won a title by now.

They would have had what the Warriors have now. 4 stars that can score, shoot, and play defense.

This one is on the OKC front office and management.

Some people will never get it, Harden wanted out and if you can't see by now what kind of a teammate he is you are blind. Thunder did the right thing, got rid of a malcontent. They were unlucky not to win a title, it happens.

 

[Montalban]

Agreed. Interested in seeing what they do for bigs.

Can you imagine the havoc it would cause with Durant at Center in the small ball lineup. No Center could follow him outside

 

[Pattersonca65]

At least Yankees fans have been around and made their presence known for ages. Your "beloved" fan base shot out of the ground from nowhere like a fuckin weed. Dont act as if the fanbase is genuine. Before Curry came around the Bay Area didn't know what a basketball was.

You don't know anything about GSW fans. Been a Warrior fan since 77/78. Warrior consistently sold out games through Cohan years even when the team was horrible. One of the longest and loyal fanbase around.

 

[Pattersonca65]

Exactly. I guess a lot of people outside the Bay Area just don't know about how the Warriors have one of the loyalest fan bases in sports. Sure, every team that wins a title picks up bandwagon fans, but this Warriors fanbase has supported this team through thick and thin. Unlike baseball and football, the Warriors are the only basketball team in the Bay. They might be the Bay's most loved team, but with football as popular as it is, it's probably still the Niners.

GSW sold out games throughout the mostly awful Cohan years. I have followed Warriors since late 70s. There were alot of really bad teams during that period

 

[tlance]

His role will be different with the Warriors though, he had to take over way more offensively for OKC ... I would lay money down Kerr is gonna use him differently... I think Durant is gonna flourish with them..

Of course. OKC played ISO ball all the time. Golden State is Better than that, which is another big factor in his decision. Durant can ISO with the best of them, but he can play off the ball just as well.

 

[msgkings322]

Can you imagine the havoc it would cause with Durant at Center in the small ball lineup. No Center could follow him outside

There's no doubt they will run the 'small' lineup a lot: Curry-Klay-Iggy-Dray-KD, and that will win them most games.

But vs teams with a lot of size they do need some inside presence. Can't win in the playoffs with 140-125 games every day.

 

[msgkings322]

Let's not sleep on the Spurs....they just signed Pau Gasol. Those 2 are so much better than the rest of the West now, even more than last year.

I hope some of you haters rip him too for joining a superstar laden team.

No lock the Warriors beat them in the playoffs.

 

[Malibu]

Let's not sleep on the Spurs....they just signed Pau Gasol. Those 2 are so much better than the rest of the West now, even more than last year.

I hope some of you haters rip him too for joining a superstar laden team.

LOL but yes the Spurs should be the team in the West that can give the Warriors fits with there skilled bigs like Aldridge and Gasol. Peace.

 

[tlance]

Some people will never get it, Harden wanted out and if you can't see by now what kind of a teammate he is you are blind. Thunder did the right thing, got rid of a malcontent. They were unlucky not to win a title, it happens.

I think Harden is a bad teammate for sure, but they still did not get enough return.

The real reason they never won rings is coaching. If Billy Donovan had been there since 2010, they would have at least 1 and maybe more. Had they not stuck with Brooks so long, we would not be having this conversation. Hell, maybe OKC keeps Ibaka, adds another star and keeps Durant in a long term deal.

 

[wildturkey]

What makes you think SAS was lying? How do you know what people close to Durant told him? Durant cant control everybody in his circle.

I had a conversation with Derozan's brother. He told me without a doubt that Derozan was coming to the Lakers. Guess what, did Derozan and tge Lakers even meet before he resigned with the Raptors? Now, if I was a reported and leaked that news out, then Derozan called me a liar, I would be pissed too.

Stephen A is one of the most trusted reporters out there because he have personal relationships with plenty of players, coaches, and executives. People hate on is credibility because they hate him as a person because he "screams"

It's not hard to figure out it was SAS was lying because it was easy to look at what was going on. He picked a popular subject (Durant's free agent) and linked him to the most popular team (the Lakers) to attract eyeballs. It's a media trick that's used garner attention and its one that SAS is a master of. Make a connection, factual or not, and then hot take the shit out of it. Durant's got more credibility in this because over the years, he's distanced himself from the media. He doesn't play their games. That's why its more believable when he says no one in my inner circle talked to SAS. And then SAS went in on him in a ridiculous manner not to protect himself, but to promote himself. He plans that stuff out for show. He knows the more ridiculous he acts, the more viral the clip will go as mouthbreathers keep hitting share going "Oh man! Look at SAS go!". He's not that credible. He's a carnival barker. When is the last time he broke any real news? Lebron to the Heat? Tony Kornheiser said the same thing but no one touts him that much. That could just as easily been guess work over actual reporting. He does know people, I don't dispute that. But if he were truly that plugged in, he'd be dropping bombs with Woj. Instead, he's far more interested in promoting his own brand above all else by any means necessary.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

he got nervous and scared he couldnt do it on his own as the best player on his team.

I think after he lost that lead to golden state 3-1 it kind of broke him inside and let the fear take over. This isnt LeBron leaving Mo Williams and an ancient Antwan Jamison as his best players. This is Durant pooping himself because he feels that he will be the next Malone after he choked away a 3-1 series lead and was the 2nd best player on his team for that series.

LeBron got scared too when he left for Miami that he would never win- but LeBron did not hae another top 5 player and a very very strong roster around him.

This is exactly it and exactly why I said to the Heat and Cavs fans up in arms about it, to look in the mirror.

Lebron jumped ship because he knew wasn't going to draw elite talent to Cleveland to play along side him. Same way OKC isnt the going to bring in elite FA's. They want big markets, glitz and glam, beaches etc. And mid to small market teams do not have this.

Hell, the only reason LeBron came back to Cleveland is because they hit the jackpot twice in the lottery with Kyrie and then Wiggins. I'd bet my life, LeBron is 100 percent behind the move to get Love and it was in place before he agreed to come back. Without those pieces, he'd be elsewhere.

Durant is no different. My guess is -- Westbrook told him, he was out the door next year to a big city team, probably the Knicks. So Durant did what was best for him and went to the team with the most pieces in place and the cap room available to sign him.

 

[tlance]

This is exactly it and exactly why I said to the Heat and Cavs fans up in arms about it, to look in the mirror.

Lebron jumped ship because he knew wasn't going to draw elite talent to Cleveland to play along side him. Same way OKC isnt the going to bring in elite FA's. They want big markets, glitz and glam, beaches etc. And mid to small market teams do not have this.

Hell, the only reason LeBron came back to Cleveland is because they hit the jackpot twice in the lottery with Kyrie and then Wiggins. I'd bet my life, LeBron is 100 percent behind the move to get Love and it was in place before he agreed to come back. Without those pieces, he'd be elsewhere.

Durant is no different. My guess is -- Westbrook told him, he was out the door next year to a big city team, probably the Knicks. So Durant did what was best for him and went to the team with the most pieces in place and the cap room available to sign him.

Also, for those who claim he should have returned for 1 more year in OKC, this was his chance to join GS. Had he waited another year, the Dubs would not have been able to retain Iggy and Livingston. The time was now.

 

[Robotech]

Appreciate that.. And HELL YES that will fix that... Durant is a fricking beast, Barnes isn't even close to Durant's level.... You double team Durant now and you pay for it BIG time... With the shooters the Warriors have this could be the best teams in the history of the league... Durant at almost 7 feet tall can play inside also, help rebound and give an inside presence... He also has that wingspan, he can shoot over anybody...

Definitely going to be fun to watch this team.

 

[Wishbone]

Durant will be more like a Kevin Garnett type guy for them, he doesn't have to shoot outside nearly as much as he did at OKC... Durant has a great 3 ball also but with all the shooters the Warriors already have Durant's role can be more mid range inside... This is effin exciting...

Kevin Garnett wtf? So no rings.....

 

[Wishbone]

Lets be honest... DURANT choked that series away.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Disagree and once again when did Harden become a superstar? Seriously Harden takes terrible shots and my son defends better then he does. He is no superstar. If Durant resigned with the Thunder with there moves they just made they would have been the team to beat in the West. Peace.

29 ppg, 7 rebounds and 6 assists is pretty good though. What is that? Chopped liver?

 

[msgkings322]

Also, for those who claim he should have returned for 1 more year in OKC, this was his chance to join GS. Had he waited another year, the Dubs would not have been able to retain Iggy and Livingston. The time was now.

Great point here...how good will they be when they have to pay Curry? Will KD stay or leave again, once the Ws have to say goodbye to key bench pieces like those 2?

We're in a new era, where superstars can do 1 and 1 deals every year looking for the best places to play for rings.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Just seems like There are a lot of people in here that are butt hurt over Durant's decision, but Durant has been with them from the beginning of his career and watch the Thunder one by one refuse to give the players they needed to win a championship - more money. If he stayed with the Thunder, clearly he would never win one. I think he handled is departure quite nicely. It's time for the Thunder to move on