How Kevin Durant's decision to super-team was not the same
- Jun 8, 2017
- 4 min read
The moment that Kevin Durant decided to take his talents to the Golden State Warriors, who were coming off a year in which they achieved an NBA record of 73 wins in a single season there was this consensus that the Warriors were the favorites to win NBA Finals in the 2016-17 season.
That's exactly what happened, for the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals in five games, for Durant won Finals MVP, averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.
Not to mention, Durant missed 20 games during the regular season due to suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain and a tibial bone bruise, yet the Warriors still finished the 2016-17 season with the best regular-season record in the NBA with a 67-15 record.
The 2014 MVP not only joined a team who achieved a historic 73 wins in a single season the prior year, but a two-time MVP in Stephen Curry, a three-time NBA All-Star in Klay Thompson, First Team All-Defensive player in Draymond Green, a NBA Coach of the Year in Steve Kerr, and a team who were the 2015 NBA Champions, and had made it to two straight NBA Finals appearances since.
Durant made the decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder after nine seasons to join the Warriors who eliminated his team in the 2016 Western Conference Finals in seven games after leading the series three games to one.
The decision for Durant to leave the Thunder for the Warriors would be like if Michael Jordan decided to leave the Chicago Bulls to join forces with the Detroit Pistons of the "Bad Boys" era, who were the mortal enemy.
I never saw Magic Johnson leave the Los Angeles Lakers to join forces with the Boston Celtics after Larry Bird beat his team too many times.
Durant's joining of a super-team is not remotely the same as any forming of a super-team, such as when LeBron James took his talents to South Beach to join forces Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in the 2010-11 season.
The Miami Heat were coming off a 47-35 regular season in which they clinched the fifth seed in the 2010 NBA Playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs in five games.
Once the Heat's "Big Three" was formed they weren't established, for they lost their first year to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in six games.
Miami's "Big Three", only won two NBA titles in four NBA Finals appearances, so it's not as if they had Carte Blanche.
Also look at the example of when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen decided to join forces with Paul Pierce on the Boston Celtics, for they were coming off a 24-58 record in the 2006-07 season.
In the 2007-08 season, the "Big Three" in Boston was built through trades in which they had to give up a lot of assets and players:
The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Kevin Garnett to the Celtics in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations, and Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick
The Seattle Sonics traded Ray Allen and Glen Davis, the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft to the Celtics in exchange for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the 2007 fifth overall pick, Jeff Green.
The Celtics Rajon Rondo was only entering his second season in the NBA at the age of 21, players such as Kendrick Perkins, Tony Allen, and Leon Powe were still inexperienced at the time, and other key role players, such as Sam Cassell, James Posey, and Eddie House had to be acquired through free agency.
Boston had a "Big Three" with missing role players, who just happened to develop as the season progressed.
The Celtics team also wasn't overly dominant, for they only won one NBA title in two NBA Finals appearances. Durant joined the winningest team (140-24) during a two-year span in NBA history.
The Warriors only had to let go of one key role player, Harrison Barnes in free agency, who was virtually non-existent in the 2016 NBA Finals.
The Warriors losing Barnes in exchange for Durant is like exchanging a McDonald's Happy Meal for a McDonald's Supersize Meal.
The key role players, such as Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala stayed on the Warriors and they only lost role players, such as Festus Ezeli, Andrew Bogut, and Marreese Speights who were easily replaced by JaVale McGee and Zaza Pachulia. In short, Durant's departure isn't remotely the same as the forming of those other "Big Threes", for the Warriors already formed a Big Three in Curry, Thompson, and Green, which formed into a "Big Four" with the addition of Durant, so there was no forming needed.
It's not a matter of "hate", it's a matter of the reality that Durant took the "easy", "non-competitive" way out.
Just remember the numbers of 67-15 and 16-1.
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