Kevin Durant broke the NBA

[CitySushi]

 

[black francis]

FIFY

"Durant does nothing in the offseason"

 

[shopson67]

"Durant does nothing in the offseason"

Everyone trains in the offseason. Durant isn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

 

[CitySushi]

The funny part is a Spurs fan complaining about Durant taking less money to retain the core.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Tim Duncan continually take pay cuts?

The most recent of which was when he signed for a 2 year 10.4M contract that allowed the Spurs to not only retain Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Manu but also let them sign LaMarcus Aldridge.

 

[calsnowskier]

And the Bulls could be in this position after next year. I think they'll have alot of money to spend and I'd rather see them bring in young serious talent than throw 3 superstars together and go compete against other Superteams. My opinion of course, but I'd rather see the evolution of a team from young to old.

That's the rub, though. The Warriors built it the "right" way, drafting 3 superstars themselves. Then, they were in a position to sign a player that was free to go wherever he wanted. And when that player initially signed, he did not ring-chase by signing a min-deal. He signed a legit superstar contract. Granted, he left money on the table when he resigned, but that was because he wanted to leave room for Iggy and Livingstone to get paid as well. And that did not affect his lifestyle in the slightest. In fact, it improved it.

No way you can legislate what the Dubs have done. They have done exactly what you would hope any club could do... draft well and have a locker room that values winning and team-play above all else.

 

[Clayton]

That's the rub, though. The Warriors built it the "right" way, drafting 3 superstars themselves. Then, they were in a position to sign a player that was free to go wherever he wanted. And when that player initially signed, he did not ring-chase by signing a min-deal. He signed a legit superstar contract. Granted, he left money on the table when he resigned, but that was because he wanted to leave room for Iggy and Livingstone to get paid as well. And that did not affect his lifestyle in the slightest. In fact, it improved it.

No way you can legislate what the Dubs have done. They have done exactly what you would hope any club could do... draft well and have a locker room that values winning and team-play above all else.

Sure, the whole scenario isnt possible if the Warriors themselves didn't do things 'the right way' but that does allow Durant to jump in and benefit from that.

In Capitalism terms, its basically a monopoly when the successful company eats up its biggest competition. Its a normal process without intervention.

 

[tlance]

Sure, the whole scenario isnt possible if the Warriors themselves didn't do things 'the right way' but that does allow Durant to jump in and benefit from that.

In Capitalism terms, its basically a monopoly when the successful company eats up its biggest competition. Its a normal process without intervention.

And Durant is a once in a generation type player who can go to an already great team like Golden State and fit seamlessly while still being their best player. Aside from Kawhi, I can't think of another superstar from the last 25 years who could do that.

 

[calsnowskier]

Sure, the whole scenario isnt possible if the Warriors themselves didn't do things 'the right way' but that does allow Durant to jump in and benefit from that.

In Capitalism terms, its basically a monopoly when the successful company eats up its biggest competition. Its a normal process without intervention.

So what would the "solution" be? Have the league office go to each FA and give them an approved list of teams they can negotiate with? Strip the champion each season of one starter?

If, in 10 years, the Dubs are the way station for all superstars to stop by for a 2-year run to pick up a ring, then OK. Changes should be made. Until then, this is just an ebb and flow of the league.

 

[msgkings322]

Trojan, CitySushi, and calsnow are crushing this thread.

 

[Clayton]

So what would the "solution" be? Have the league office go to each FA and give them an approved list of teams they can negotiate with? Strip the champion each season of one starter?

If, in 10 years, the Dubs are the way station for all superstars to stop by for a 2-year run to pick up a ring, then OK. Changes should be made. Until then, this is just an ebb and flow of the league.

There is no solution. Its just me not watching and I doubt I'm the only person.

The idea of sport is that the outcome has to be in question. I'll just wait for this period to pass and praise the team for being great but its entirely uninteresting.

 

[Clayton]

And Durant is a once in a generation type player who can go to an already great team like Golden State and fit seamlessly while still being their best player. Aside from Kawhi, I can't think of another superstar from the last 25 years who could do that.

I think thats mostly because Curry is better than every player in the league except for maybe a small handful. Certainly you could roll with anyone Paul Pierce or Paul George or even Melo and find a way to crush teams. Durant is just literally the perfect fit.

 

[Wishbone]

The Warriors were going to win the title pretty easy without Durant last year. I don't think KD will get respect as a true champion until he proves he can lead his own team to a title.

 

[thunderc]

Just heard a good analogy on national radio. What he did is the equivalent in college football of moving to the sun belt conference so he could win games by 7 Tds. Don't take that literally, but in terms of how he will be thought of competitively it is accurate.

 

[Vyle203]

So what did we decide? How broken is the NBA on a scale of 1-10(Ten being the most broken)?

 

[msgkings322]

The Warriors were going to win the title pretty easy without Durant last year. I don't think KD will get respect as a true champion until he proves he can lead his own team to a title.

Really? Is that why they won so easily in 2016? You're projecting son, most people don't feel the way jilted Thunder fans do about him.

 

[msgkings322]

Just heard a good analogy on national radio. What he did is the equivalent in college football of moving to the sun belt conference so he could win games by 7 Tds. Don't take that literally, but in terms of how he will be thought of competitively it is accurate.

It's more like Randy Moss joining the Patriots in 2007. But football analogies are not really accurate. Why make an analogy, the Warriors and KD took advantage of a very rare opportunity as mentioned above. It's no surprise OKC fans are butthurt, and it's no surprise the Warriors are the league villain.

A better analogy is the 1990s Yankees who drafted their own great players and bought up others. And everyone hates the Yankees except Yankees fans. So what? That's sports.

So now people can root for one of the best teams ever assembled, or root against them, it's sports. It was almost the same thing with MJ's Bulls, the drama was seeing if anyone could take them down. It probably wasn't gonna happen, and it never did. Does that make 1990s NBA not compelling?

You didn't have to be a Bulls fan to enjoy watching the GOAT in his prime, surrounded by other all time greats like Pippen and Rodman. You don't have to be a Warriors fan to enjoy their very exciting brand of fast paced high scoring but good defense basketball.

 

[tlance]

The Warriors were going to win the title pretty easy without Durant last year. I don't think KD will get respect as a true champion until he proves he can lead his own team to a title.

So then you admit the only reason OKC went up 3-1 was because Curry was playing hurt? That is the only logical explanation for this post. I believe the warriors would have won last year without KD, but I seriously doubt you felt that way before KD left.

 

[trojanfan12]

If my memory and math serves me right, the NBA has never had a top 5 player jump ship and join a championship team. All that does is make an unbalanced league even more unbalanced.

They haven't really had much chance previously.

But to use "league has always been unbalanced" is pretty funny. Not this unbalanced. OKC went from being legit opponent in the West to a joke.

Just because it hasn't been "this unbalanced" doesn't change the fact that it has always been unbalanced. As I posted before, this Warriors team is an outlier. It took a perfect storm of circumstances for this to happen.

Folks just need to calm the hell down. The sky isn't falling, this will pass and the league will return to it's normal unbalanced but not "this unbalanced" seasons that we're all used to.

 

[thunderc]

No one has to calm down if they don't want to. Go ahead and ignore the significance of how it went down all you want. It's a personal choice.

 

[trojanfan12]

No one has to calm down if they don't want to. Go ahead and ignore the significance of how it went down all you want. It's a personal choice.