Monday, Kevin Durant made his long-awaited decision by announcing he would defect to the Golden State Warriors leaving behind the team that ‘made him’ in the Thunder. It was a move that seemingly shocked the NBA world and was immediately being compared to LeBron turning his back on the Cavs and joining the Miami Heat a few seasons ago.
Kevin Durant announces he'll sign with the Golden State Warriors in shocking OKC departure https://t.co/PA04SvBagc via @HuffPostSports
— David Dean (@daredean) July 5, 2016
But why? Why is Kevin Durant’s decision to leave the Thunder and join the Warriors in any bit surprising?
First I can understand frustration and anger on the part of Oklahoma City fans. They lost their franchise player and probably had the door opened for Russell Westbrook to be the next high-profile player to leave town.
Then there’s guys like Stephen A. Smith who tweeted this out:
Don't give a damn what anyone says: weak move by KD. You go to GSW, the team who beat you, when you're already on a title contender? Please!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 4, 2016
Then Smith finished up his rant with this:
“Kevin Durant is one of the stop three players in the world. And he ran away from the challenge that he faces in order to jump on the bandwagon of a team that’s a little better.”
First, how can anyone in their right mind get on Durant for making a bunch of money playing on the best basketball team in the World? This absurd condemnation is something that happens way too much in professional sports.
Punishing a guy for simply wanting to play for a better team.
In the real world, no one would think twice to hold back their criticism of some average joe quitting his job to take on a better opportunity somewhere else.
And please spare me the second fiddle Kevin Durant would seemingly play in Golden State. Or some inane notion that he’s playing third or fourth wheel to win a championship. I think LeBron has taught all of us, including the NBA that joining that ‘super team’ guarantees nothing.
Lets also be clear on one thing here. Durant will be under much more pressure to win a title in Golden State than he ever was in Oklahoma City.
When can guys like Stephen A. Smith make up their minds too? If Durant took on a huge contract to stay with the Thunder would Smith still develop some asinine excuse to criticize a high-profile NBA player holding some poor small market club hostage?
What happened to simply just wanting to win and respecting a player to want to do just that? Durant gave the Thunder nine years of his career and nothing in terms of an NBA Title was ever accomplished. Perhaps a change of scenery was needed. I mean don’t we get on head coaches and general managers for going that long without winning a championship with their given team?
And just like LeBron owed nothing to the Cavs the first time he split Cleveland, Kevin Durant owes nothing to Oklahoma City. KD was going to be star no matter where he went in the NBA and quite frankly OKC needed him much more than he needed them. But don’t get things confused, Durant still didn’t go on some ESPN special to break the hearts of Thunder fans which is the big difference here with LeBron.