Durant signing with the Warriors robbed the NBA of a 2-3 year stretch a current era’s “Golden Age”

[GoBuds14]

Cavs-Warriors 2016 Finals provided us with possibly the most captivating finals in recent memory. You had Curry coming off an Historic MVP season where he truly was a rival to LeBron on the court and in popularity. Cavs-Warriors 3 (without KD) had all the makings of an historic rivalry that would have defined the era, especially if they gave us another classic series.

Let’s not forget, OKC had the Warriors 3-1 and blew it. In my opinion, as a team they were on the same level as Cavs-Warriors heading into 2017. If Durant could have willed them to a title the following year, it would have done more for his legacy than anything he did in Golden State.

The emergence of Houston with Harden and CP3 along with a healthy Kawhi in San Antonio would have given the Western Conference 4 teams with legitimate title chances.

This leaves us with 5 teams featuring arguably the 5 best players in the entire league with relatively even chances going into 2016-2017
Cleveland-LeBron
Warriors-Curry
OKC-Durant
Houston- Harden
Spurs- Kawhi

Would have been great theatre.

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[K Fleur]

Durant was never winning a championship with OKC no mater how much "willing" he did.

 

[GoBuds14]

Durant was never winning a championship with OKC no mater how much "willing" he did.

Here’s the thing, if Durant played to his potential in games 5,6,or 7, they’re in the finals in 2016 and not the 73 win Warriors. Blame his supporting cast all you want, it was in his hands, especially since he wanted to be considered the best in the world. I don’t love Westbrook’s game, but that team was right there as a contender regardless

 

[Gecklund]

Here’s the thing, if Durant played to his potential in games 5,6,or 7, they’re in the finals in 2016 and not the 73 win Warriors. Blame his supporting cast all you want, it was in his hands, especially since he wanted to be considered the best in the world. I don’t love Westbrook’s game, but that team was right there as a contender regardless

Durant was never winning a title with OKC. No team with Westbrook playing an important role will ever win a title.

 

[GoBuds14]

Durant was never winning a title with OKC. No team with Westbrook playing an important role will ever win a title.

I have a hard time believing that considering how close they were and I dislike Westbrook’s game.

 

[Voight]

Being a KD fan is stressful at times.... here we go again

 

[Gecklund]

I have a hard time believing that considering how close they were and I dislike Westbrook’s game.

There’s only so much a player can carry a team. Even Lebron who is easily a top 3 player ever (if not the best) doesn’t win every year.

 

[bleedblue1223]

It's not like KD started the super-team trend.

 

[GoBuds14]

Being a KD fan is stressful at times.... here we go again

He was too good to join Golden State, his rings don’t impress me all that much because what’s compelling about winning a championship in sports is the competitive grind and on-court adversity. Would Ovechkins cup feel the same if he left and won it in Pittsburgh? I hope KD wins 1 or more in Brooklyn, he has all the talent to be a top 10 player all time.

 

[GoBuds14]

It's not like KD started the super-team trend.

He took it to a different height though. Joining a 73 win team, who he had up 3-1, who had won a ring in the last 2 years, this wasn’t Juwan Howard chasing rings, this was a top 3 player in the game joining an all time team. To me, professional sports is watching the best compete against the best, it’s what makes sports so compelling. The NBA has a problem where the best want to play with each other and to me that violates what makes professional sports great. Why not have the mindset of coming back and beating the guys who denied you a title, even if it’s not on OKC

 

[bleedblue1223]

He took it to a different height though. Joining a 73 win team, who he had up 3-1, who had won a ring in the last 2 years, this wasn’t Juwan Howard chasing rings, this was a top 3 player in the game joining an all time team. To me, professional sports is watching the best compete against the best, it’s what makes sports so compelling. The NBA has a problem where the best want to play with each other and to me that violates what makes professional sports great. Why not have the mindset of coming back and beating the guys who denied you a title, even if it’s not on OKC

To me it's in the same tier as LeBron, Wade, and Bosh teaming up. While not a pre-existing team, they were 2 of the top 5 players in the game and whatever tier you consider Bosh in.

 

[GoBuds14]

To me it's in the same tier as LeBron, Wade, and Bosh teaming up. While not a pre-existing team, they were 2 of the top 5 players in the game and whatever tier you consider Bosh in.

Similar, but there’s 2 key differences.
1) joining the team that beat you in the western conference finals, when you had them up 3-1. As a fan, that goes against the fundamental spirit of competitiveness I love about professional sports
2) joining a team that had enough team chemistry to win 73 games. The Heat weren’t established and had to build

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like LeBron’s move to Miami either, felt he was above that. LeBron in a way created the monster that was Durant on Golden State.

 

[bleedblue1223]

LeBron in a way created the monster that was Durant on Golden State.

Yeah, that's all I'm saying. I don't like when top 3 or top 5 players leave to go to a team they know will dominate while in their prime when they are already on a team that is contending. It's not like Malone or Payton on that Lakers team or even that Celtics team with Garnett/Allen/Pierce/Rondo. None of them were at the absolute top of their game and it was more of a last chance type thing.

 

[Voight]

It's not like KD started the super-team trend.

Yea, it was arguably KG/Allen who did, but Bron kick started the whole thing and when he went to make a super team it basically translated to "its OK if you wanna team up and chase a ring."

(Plus KG and Allen didn't really plan on teaming up together, where as LBJ/Wade made a pact in 2006 that when their contracts expired in 2010, they'd find a way to play together w/ Melo - who then signed a 5 year deal vs the 3 year deals Bron, Wade & Bosh signed)

He was too good to join Golden State, his rings don’t impress me all that much because what’s compelling about winning a championship in sports is the competitive grind and on-court adversity. Would Ovechkins cup feel the same if he left and won it in Pittsburgh? I hope KD wins 1 or more in Brooklyn, he has all the talent to be a top 10 player all time.

If people weren't so ring obsessed these days he'd of never made the move. People rag on elite players not winning titles way more than they did in the 90s, i.e. Barkley/Malone/Stockton were not criticized that much for being ringless.

Anybody who says they wouldn't of made the same decision is lying. If you're already a hall of famer and have accomplished pretty much everything but win a title, your going to take the best path there which in his case was signing w/ GS.

 

[GoBuds14]

Yea, it was arguably KG/Allen who did, but Bron kick started the whole thing and when he went to make a super team it basically translated to "its OK if you wanna team up and chase a ring."

(Plus KG and Allen didn't really plan on teaming up together, where as LBJ/Wade made a pact in 2006 that when their contracts expired in 2010, they'd find a way to play together w/ Melo - who then signed a 5 year deal vs the 3 year deals Bron, Wade & Bosh signed)



If people weren't so ring obsessed these days he'd of never made the move. People rag on elite players not winning titles way more than they did in the 90s, i.e. Barkley/Malone/Stockton were not criticized that much for being ringless.

Anybody who says they wouldn't of made the same decision is lying. If you're already a hall of famer and have accomplished pretty much everything but win a title, your going to take the best path there which in his case was signing w/ GS.

I see your point and agree for the most part. I think what Durant’s rings in Golden State highlighted (and part of the reason he still whines about not getting the same recognition as LeBron) is that it’s not just about the Ring, it’s the journey to get there that captivates fans. His move to Golden State was a short cut, he played well in the finals no doubt, but it felt like a foregone conclusion that they were going to win, and that’s no fun

 

[Voight]

I see your point and agree for the most part. I think what Durant’s rings in Golden State highlighted (and part of the reason he still whines about not getting the same recognition as LeBron) is that it’s not just about the Ring, it’s the journey to get there that captivates fans. His move to Golden State was a short cut, he played well in the finals no doubt, but it felt like a foregone conclusion that they were going to win, and that’s no fun

Well they went 8-1 in the finals because of him, and one could argue Raps take it in 5 last year if he doesn't have the small comeback in Game 5 (he may have played like 12 minutes but he was on fire). I think he also wanted his titles (or at least the first one or two) to come while he was still a top 5 player and not a role player thats ring chasing. While going there was a shortcut I suppose, he didn't have many options. He didn't pre-plan leaving OKC and teaming up with his pals the way LeBron did. There was also a lack of elite talent hitting free agency or demanding trades back in 2016, compared to this year when free agency was flush with star movement.

 

[GoBuds14]

Well they went 8-1 in the finals because of him, and one could argue Raps take it in 5 last year if he doesn't have the small comeback in Game 5 (he may have played like 12 minutes but he was on fire). I think he also wanted his titles (or at least the first one or two) to come while he was still a top 5 player and not a role player thats ring chasing. While going there was a shortcut I suppose, he didn't have many options. He didn't pre-plan leaving OKC and teaming up with his pals the way LeBron did. There was also a lack of elite talent hitting free agency or demanding trades back in 2016, compared to this year when free agency was flush with star movement.

Personally, I would have loved to see him go to Washington or make the Knicks relevant. Washington is his hometown and with a healthy Wall/Beal/Durant they’d be impressive. Knicks only because the NBA would be that much more interesting with a relevant team there (horrific front office, so I get it) The move to Golden State took away playoff drama which was a shame

 

[Voight]

Personally, I would have loved to see him go to Washington or make the Knicks relevant. Washington is his hometown and with a healthy Wall/Beal/Durant they’d be impressive. Knicks only because the NBA would be that much more interesting with a relevant team there (horrific front office, so I get it) The move to Golden State took away playoff drama which was a shame

KD I believe ruled out Washington right away and I don't blame him, a lot of people don't like the pressure of playing for your hometown. There was talk a year or two pre-free agency he'd be interested in joining Toronto but by 2016 his lone goal was to pursue a title and the Raps weren't contenders for the Larry OB yet.

NBA is doing fine with an irrelevant Knicks franchise. Dolan is a piece of crap and deserves all the misfortune the Knicks have. Its actually probably better that they sucks, otherwise all you'd be hearing is "Basketball Mecca." Anyways, as we saw this summer star players don't want to play for the Knicks, they have largely sucked for 20 years and are run like a circus.

 

[GoBuds14]

KD I believe ruled out Washington right away and I don't blame him, a lot of people don't like the pressure of playing for your hometown. There was talk a year or two pre-free agency he'd be interested in joining Toronto but by 2016 his lone goal was to pursue a title and the Raps weren't contenders for the Larry OB yet.

NBA is doing fine with an irrelevant Knicks franchise. Dolan is a piece of crap and deserves all the misfortune the Knicks have. Its actually probably better that they sucks, otherwise all you'd be hearing is "Basketball Mecca." Anyways, as we saw this summer star players don't want to play for the Knicks, they have largely sucked for 20 years and are run like a circus.

Of course the NBA is doing fine without the Knicks. However, a contending team at MSG would garner more interest in the league without question. Either way we’re off topic.

When I said Knicks or Washington, that’s just my personal preference and obviously KD or anyone shouldn’t care what my personal preference is. That being said, Golden State was essentially the last place most fans wanted to see him go to.

As with the original idea of the thread, KD leading a contender would have made the league so interesting to go along with Cleveland, GS, Spurs, Rockets, missed opportunity for what surely would have been a great stretch of basketball

 

[Voight]

Of course the NBA is doing fine without the Knicks. However, a contending team at MSG would garner more interest in the league without question. Either way we’re off topic.

When I said Knicks or Washington, that’s just my personal preference and obviously KD or anyone shouldn’t care what my personal preference is. That being said, Golden State was essentially the last place most fans wanted to see him go to.

As with the original idea of the thread, KD leading a contender would have made the league so interesting to go along with Cleveland, GS, Spurs, Rockets, missed opportunity for what surely would have been a great stretch of basketball

Honestly, after the Rockets missed 27 straight threes I knew they were never going to make the finals.

It could still happen, but I honestly don't have a ton of faith in playoff Harden.

 

[rent free]

To me it's in the same tier as LeBron, Wade, and Bosh teaming up. While not a pre-existing team, they were 2 of the top 5 players in the game and whatever tier you consider Bosh in.

to me it's kevin garnett and ray allen teaming up with paul pierce in 2007 that started the big-3 trend

 

[bleedblue1223]

to me it's kevin garnett and ray allen teaming up with paul pierce in 2007 that started the big-3 trend

They were all trades and essentially past their prime, even though they had good years left.

 

[rent free]

this really isn't true tbh. golden state was on another level from all the other teams in the west. they literally went 72-10 without durant on the team. okc had their chance to knock them out in 2016 with durant and blew it. the rockets had their chance in 2018 and blew it. a healthy kahwi and the spurs wasn't good enough to knock them down. also, who knows if kahwi is even healthy if OKC re-signs durant. he probably still gets injured against golden state.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Warriors were clearly better than the Cavs (and every other team in the league) when Steph was healthy and Draymond wasn't getting suspended. Not Durant's fault, but it's hard for even a superstar to make that big of an impact on a team that's already historically good. It did much more to hurt OKC than to help the Warriors.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Warriors were clearly better than the Cavs (and every other team in the league) when Steph was healthy and Draymond wasn't getting suspended. Not Durant's fault, but it's hard for even a superstar to make that big of an impact on a team that's already historically good. It did much more to hurt OKC than to help the Warriors.

Curry was healthy in the finals.