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

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
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.

The season before the Warriors got Durant Lebron was complaining to the media that Gilbert had to add another superstar to compete against GS. The rumor was he wanted Carmelo Anthony. That's why the Warriors signed Durant. Cleveland already had LeBron, Love , and Irving and wanted to add another superstar. Cleveland needed a top level coach not a superstar but LeBron got his man in Tyron Lue who was a sock puppet.

We live in the era where every kid gets a trophy. It's only logical that all the "superstars" win a championship too. So many superstars didn't win a championship in the 80's, 90's, 00's because of the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, and the Spurs and they were okay with it. Those 4 teams won 23 of the 30 championships. In today's era it doesn't matter how you got one as long as you get one. Golden state was that team that was going to shut out this generation of superstars.

OKC would have been a super team built the right way if they would have just waited for there time. Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Ibaka would have made Curry, Thompson and Green look very bad. It just wasn't their time yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Voight

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
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
Lebron James shortcut with Miami makes it so he is not in the same tier as Jordan, Magic, Shaq, and Kobe.
 

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
to me it's kevin garnett and ray allen teaming up with paul pierce in 2007 that started the big-3 trend
Garnett and Allen had played in the league for 12 seasons before they left to go to Boston. In 8 playoff appearances Garnett made it out of the first round once. In 12 seasons Ray Allen made the playoffs 4 times making it out of the first round twice. Once they got to Boston they were starting to decline but still very good ball players. LeBron was 25 when he left and never lost in the first round in 5 of 7 seasons.

Lebron Left a 61 win team to form a super team. Garnett left a 32 win team and Allen left a 31 win team to put it in perspective. Lebron never paid his dues to win a Championships in Miami. The one he won in Cleveland was legit though. Now he's in L.A. trying to Miami it all over again. That will affect his legacy in my eyes.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Voight

JetsWillFly4Ever

PLAY EHLERS 20 MIN A NIGHT
May 21, 2011
6,211
8,996
Winnipeg MB.
Lebron James shortcut with Miami makes it so he is not in the same tier as Jordan, Magic, Shaq, and Kobe.
Such a dumb argument. It's not Lebrons fault his management was shit and couldn't bring him in anything to work with. Shaq had Kobe, Jordan had Pippen, Magic had the Showtime Lakers.

Lebron had...Zydranus Ilgauskas? I can't remember a single player from those Cavs teams.
 

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
Such a dumb argument. It's not Lebrons fault his management was shit and couldn't bring him in anything to work with. Shaq had Kobe, Jordan had Pippen, Magic had the Showtime Lakers.

Lebron had...Zydranus Ilgauskas? I can't remember a single player from those Cavs teams.
Didn't Lebron already make the Finals?
 

JetsWillFly4Ever

PLAY EHLERS 20 MIN A NIGHT
May 21, 2011
6,211
8,996
Winnipeg MB.
Didn't Lebron already make the Finals?
Once in 7 years, in the3 years after that they only made the Conference Finals once, and their roster the entire time was absolute trash compared to any of the Jordan/Kobe/Magic/Shaq/Spurs championship teams.

It's not Lebron's fault the organization couldn't build a roster around him. He gave them 7 years, multiple MVP's and they gave him nothing to work with. It's not like KD where at least he had Russ, Ibaka, Harden for a bit. Lebron left the team because they did nothing to help him win.
 

GoBuds14

Registered User
Dec 15, 2015
739
680
Lebron James shortcut with Miami makes it so he is not in the same tier as Jordan, Magic, Shaq, and Kobe.

There are so many different variables that go into rings (teammates, competition) that sometimes that argument doesn’t tell the whole story. If you strictly look at rings, those guys are in a different tier, but I can easily argue statistically that LeBron is tier above Kobe Shaq and Magic and it isn’t particularly close. I’m not bringing up MJ because while LeBron does some things better, MJs competitive fire made him a better scorer, defensive player and big game performer.

LeBron’s run to 8 straight finals to go along with some monster performances in the playoffs and finals should dispel the myth that he’s a choker, but apparently it hasn’t. Granted, he’s had some glaring let downs, but more often than not he’s been spectacular in the big games. Look at his numbers in elimination games 34-11-7.

He’s a Mount Rushmore type player
 
  • Like
Reactions: Big Poppa Puck

Centrum Hockey

Registered User
Aug 2, 2018
2,089
727
Lebron James shortcut with Miami makes it so he is not in the same tier as Jordan, Magic, Shaq, and Kobe.
Shaq bounced from Orlando after a final's appearance and a Eastern Conference finals appearance He quit on a good team. Lebron had a much better case for leaving the Cavs for the heat he never had a caliber of player like penny hardaway on his team.
 

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
Shaq bounced from Orlando after a final's appearance and a Eastern Conference finals appearance He quit on a good team. Lebron had a much better case for leaving the Cavs for the heat he never had a caliber of player like penny hardaway on his team.
He did not quit on a good team. He left because they wouldn't pay him what he was worth and low balled him. Morning was drafted behind Shaq but was getting paid more. This was the Magic's fault for undervaluing Shaq not that Shaq didn't want to stay.

Great article on why shaq left.

The inside story: How the Magic let the Lakers steal Shaquille O'Neal

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/295859-the-real-reason-lebron-james-plans-on-changing-his-number
 
  • Like
Reactions: Voight and Cassano

Halladay

Registered User
Feb 27, 2009
65,105
7,804
H Town
He is the something, LeBron did not start the Super team. It happened in 70's and 80's. The 76ers lost the Finals and then traded for Moses Malone in 82 in which he 1st team NBA. LeBron gets too much hate.
 

Voight

#winning
Feb 8, 2012
40,373
16,652
Mulberry Street
He is the something, LeBron did not start the Super team. It happened in 70's and 80's. The 76ers lost the Finals and then traded for Moses Malone in 82 in which he 1st team NBA. LeBron gets too much hate.

Yea but Malone didn't convene with his pals and make a plan to team up. So what if a star player got traded to another team? Players weren't calling each other up and making them demand trades so they could all play together.

While the Celtics "started" the big 3 trend, its not like Allen & Garnett decided to team up in Boston. They both wanted out of bad teams (understandably) and Boston saw a Golden Opportunity. LeBron going to Miami w/ Wade & Bosh started the whole "lets all team up together" thing.

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.

I'd argue that with him they went 8-1 in the finals, with him easily being the best player both times. Plus the first year where they went 16-1 in the playoffs.

& while GS was the best team in the league, they had gone 1-1 in the finals pre-KD. Not like they had won 3 in a row.
 
  • Like
Reactions: clydesdale line
Sep 19, 2008
372,083
23,942
stephen a was right to critique him for bolting to the warriors

durant "i don't know stephen a nobody i know talk to him"

:laugh:
 

Voight

#winning
Feb 8, 2012
40,373
16,652
Mulberry Street
Such a dumb argument. It's not Lebrons fault his management was shit and couldn't bring him in anything to work with. Shaq had Kobe, Jordan had Pippen, Magic had the Showtime Lakers.

Lebron had...Zydranus Ilgauskas? I can't remember a single player from those Cavs teams.

The thing with LeBron is he planned his exit as early as 2006/2007. He knew well in advance he wasn't sticking around. IIRC, he, Wade and Melo were at a Team USA training/practice thing and they all agreed to sign 3 year extensions, so they'd become free agents in 2010. Melo for whatever reason ended up signing a 5 year deal with the Nuggets so Bron/Wade recruited Bosh instead.

In his defence tho, he had been in Cleveland/Akron his entire life, so I think he wanted to have his own "college experience" and see what was out there.
 

Cassano

Registered User
Aug 31, 2013
25,610
3,818
GTA
There are so many different variables that go into rings (teammates, competition) that sometimes that argument doesn’t tell the whole story. If you strictly look at rings, those guys are in a different tier, but I can easily argue statistically that LeBron is tier above Kobe Shaq and Magic and it isn’t particularly close. I’m not bringing up MJ because while LeBron does some things better, MJs competitive fire made him a better scorer, defensive player and big game performer.

LeBron’s run to 8 straight finals to go along with some monster performances in the playoffs and finals should dispel the myth that he’s a choker, but apparently it hasn’t. Granted, he’s had some glaring let downs, but more often than not he’s been spectacular in the big games. Look at his numbers in elimination games 34-11-7.

He’s a Mount Rushmore type player
He is a mount Rushmore player, but the stain of the 2011 Mavericks series took a big hit on his legacy and made the Heatles seem 'beatable' despite many experts claiming them as the best team ever.
 

Deficient Mode

Registered User
Mar 25, 2011
60,348
2,397
I'd argue that with him they went 8-1 in the finals, with him easily being the best player both times. Plus the first year where they went 16-1 in the playoffs.

& while GS was the best team in the league, they had gone 1-1 in the finals pre-KD. Not like they had won 3 in a row.

Finals record is an extremely flawed argument. Cavs were clearly worse even in 2017 (mostly due to their defense) and obviously much worse in 2018 than in 2016. And of course the Warriors still had a close playoff series in 2018 that swung on Chris Paul's injury, as the Warriors had close series in 2015 and 2016. The Warriors were still a historically great team with Durant off the floor in those three seasons and they still would have been the dominant team. And their odds of winning in 2019 are better if they had spent money on role players instead of on Durant, who was injured in the pivotal rounds. There are plenty of hypotheticals to go around. The narrative that he was necessary for them to win more championships is as bad as the narrative that they were better off without him that popped up in last year's playoffs.

It's just the reality that the better a team already is, the harder it is for them to improve even marginally. 2017 Warriors were clearly better than the 2016 Warriors, but they didn't improve by nearly as much as if Durant had gone to any other team in the league. The 2016 Warriors team was still very likely to win multiple championships over the next 3 seasons if they had spent Durant's money on role players, in my opinion.
 

Maestro84

Registered User
May 3, 2018
2,120
1,634
Toronto
Yeah I wasn't a fan of KD's decision but at the same time, it is free agency for a reason and it's not like GS broke any NBA rules by signing KD (I mean anyone with half a brain cell would never think twice about signing Durant).

I mean think about it in a personal way, if you're offered a new job that gives you much better opportunities to fulfill your career goals with a company that has a brilliant culture and environment, you'd go for it of course. That's what KD did
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Voight

GoBuds14

Registered User
Dec 15, 2015
739
680
He is a mount Rushmore player, but the stain of the 2011 Mavericks series took a big hit on his legacy and made the Heatles seem 'beatable' despite many experts claiming them as the best team ever.
100% agree
 

Mr Fahrenheit

Valar Morghulis
Oct 9, 2009
7,764
3,254
Yeah I wasn't a fan of KD's decision but at the same time, it is free agency for a reason and it's not like GS broke any NBA rules by signing KD (I mean anyone with half a brain cell would never think twice about signing Durant).

I mean think about it in a personal way, if you're offered a new job that gives you much better opportunities to fulfill your career goals with a company that has a brilliant culture and environment, you'd go for it of course. That's what KD did

And its not like he took some discount either, Warriors had the cap space (able to get enough) and used it
 

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
The thing with LeBron is he planned his exit as early as 2006/2007. He knew well in advance he wasn't sticking around. IIRC, he, Wade and Melo were at a Team USA training/practice thing and they all agreed to sign 3 year extensions, so they'd become free agents in 2010. Melo for whatever reason ended up signing a 5 year deal with the Nuggets so Bron/Wade recruited Bosh instead.

In his defence tho, he had been in Cleveland/Akron his entire life, so I think he wanted to have his own "college experience" and see what was out there.
Remember when James publicly stated his intention to change his jersey number from “23” to “6” out of respect to Michael Jordan. He also went on to express his belief that no other NBA player should wear the number in recognition of Jordan's accomplishments and influence on the league. That was all bullshit. He did it the season before he left to go to Miami because Jordan's 23 is retired in Miami. The whole Boys & Girls (decision) was known for a least 1 year.
 

Stylizer1

SENSimillanaire
Jun 12, 2009
19,276
3,689
Ottabot City
And its not like he took some discount either, Warriors had the cap space (able to get enough) and used it
Warriors had the cap space because they drafted their stars and had them on relatively small contracts compared to their out put. The only way Lebron was going to beat the Warriors is if he created another super team in Cleveland. By signing Durant the Warriors beat them to the punch.
 

Voight

#winning
Feb 8, 2012
40,373
16,652
Mulberry Street
Warriors had the cap space because they drafted their stars and had them on relatively small contracts compared to their out put. The only way Lebron was going to beat the Warriors is if he created another super team in Cleveland. By signing Durant the Warriors beat them to the punch.

I remember when GS gave Curry that 44 million extension, a lot of people said they were crazy to do it and his health wouldn't hold up. Lucky for them the stars aligned perfectly + Thompson became a star while also on a rookie extension.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->