By: Raashaan Myers
All-Star forward
and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant shook up the sports world with his
decision on the 4th of July to join forces with the already high
powered Golden State Warriors. This choice has of course been met with a ton of
push back from players and front office members around the NBA as well as a ton
of scrutiny from the court of public opinion as well. And while on the surface people try to compare
this to “The Decision” made by LeBron James in his most defining moment leaving
Cleveland back in 2010 this decision to me is completely different.
When King James made his decision to take his
talents to South Beach leaving behind his hometown fans and joining forces with
another high level free agent Chris Bosh as well as established elite player
Dwyane Wade who was already in place in Miami ready to teach those guys how to
win. Together the Big 3 created a brand new team built to do one thing and that
was in a title. And while the bold prediction of “Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4,….”
Didn’t really go down as hoped for LeBron and crew it did result in 2 titles
and NBA Finals appearances in every year he was in Miami. Most say this was the
beginning of the super team era but in all actuality it started back in 2007
when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen agreed to join an already established
superstar in Paul Pierce with Boston that resulted in a title and 2 appearances
in the NBA Finals. This is the scenario is the one that most similarly
resembles the LeBron decision though the hometown angle added a lot of spice to
the latter.
This move by
Durant is much more about fit and need than purely trying to form a completely
new super team with other stars. First off the Warriors formula and team are
already well established and every player on this team has a role and that will
not change with the addition of Durant. And while the Warriors already has one
title under their belts the Cleveland Cavs exposed a glaring weakness and chink
in the golden armor of the Warriors. When placed in a slowdown half court
grinder type game the Warriors really didn’t have a reliable “get a bucket”
type scorer and was way too dependent on being able to pass the ball into good
shots. In that respect Durant is a
perfect complement to both Curry and Thompson who are much better in the catch
and shoot role rather than a shot creator greatly improving floor spacing. And unlike the erratic offensive situation in
Oklahoma City where Durant really had to take turns on offense with fellow
superstar Russell Westbrook this brand of basketball fits KD to a glove. It’s a win-win situation for both parties
involved.
The closest
comparison I can make to a future Hall of Famer joining an already established team with
championship pedigree would be when “The Worm” Dennis Rodman decided to join
former blood enemy Michael Jordan in Chicago to form the 72-10 Bulls team that
of course went on to win 3 straight titles. People asked how Rodman could get
along with Jordan and Pippen when they had a very heated and hated rivalry with
Detroit and people are asking the same of KD after being ousted by the
Warriors. Well like those guys said back then competition build respect and
they guys that push you the hardest are a lot of times who you respect the
most. And unlike LeBron who made a long drawn out spectacle of his “Decision”
complete with hour long special Durant took 3 days to interview his possible
suitors and then made a choice via the internet without even holding a press
conference as well as telling the OKC brass himself of his choice to leave.
Durant handled this with the class and respect that he has with every other
move in his career and while his choice may not be popular to some I’m not sure
he could not have handled it any better. And while some will say he is just
chasing a title which may be true I tend to think he is looking for somewhere
he finally feels comfortable and I’d say mission accomplished.
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