I feel sorry for guys like Barkley. He lived through the grind, and some asshat like Durant has a ring but he doesn't. Look, Durant's work with the Thunder deserves recognition, that guy was downright amazing. This guy however, I don't get exactly what he did. This isn't greatness, it's goodness sustained over short periods. It's like when Team USA wins Olympic gold. Woopty doo. You were supposed to do that.
If you want to use Trump as an example, you should also use Obama. Barry got tons of criticism for almost everything he did from half the government, yet Obama was never perceived as thin-skinned or resentful of the American people. Although he may have felt terrible behind the scenes, he rarely used social media and other outlets to vent his frustration. Point is, the Donald isn't a great example. I'm fairly certain KD isn't as thin-skinned as the Orange one.
Not at his prime. Even Barkley admits he was over the hill when he joined. It's not the same. There are a lot of amazing players, that didn't bolt to a winner in their respective primes. Ring chasers happened, sure, but most of them (Malone, Payton, Barkley) were at the end of their careers. The fact that Durant might end up with as many rings as Jordan sickens me, not because of who he is, but how he did it.
This argument never makes sense to me. Why should competitive sports be mutually exclusive to regular life? If you were always working your tail off at company A, been there for a while and never receive any promotions or recognition, why wouldn't you want to jump ship to a company with a better work culture, better benefits, and a better chance at improving your life? That's exactly what KD did. You see it as an easy way out, I see it as an easier path to ultimately achieve your goal. Why would you want to be stuck in a rut / dead-end job? I'd rather have a ring, with a great chance at getting more rings. The adoration of the people heaped upon KD for staying in OKC would have eventually turned to pity and ridicule. "Poor KD loses in the WCF again." "Durant just can't get his White Whale." "Durant flames out in playoffs, yet again." If you were KD, which of these would you want as the headline for your career? "Kevin Durant won X championships throughout his NBA career" or "Kevin Durant retires, joining Barkley, Webber, Malone, Stockton et al. as one of the greatest players never to win a NBA championship" It's an easy choice.
There was not enough money for two prime stars on the same team during that time. Barkley even asked to be traded to Suns. At least KD did not ask to be treaded.
KD is going to do what's best for him, it doesn't make me less sad that athletes who put in more time and effort didn't get a ring. Durant took the easy way out, and that's fine, but then let's not put him in the category of the greats. Let's put him in the category of the really really goods, but not the greats. It's like winning a gold medal on steroids. I'm happy for you that you did it, but it cheapens your accomplishment. It doesn't undo it, and it doesn't detract from the fact that you are one of the fastest or strongest people in the world. It just makes me respect it less. The warriors and durant have done nothing wrong here, it's just cheap.
I love this kind of response. I also got this response when I posted about my dislike of KD. I guess nobody can have a justified lack of appreciation for something without being "butthurt"?
He asked to be traded out of frustration, not to go join the best gig in town. Barkley didn't ask to be traded to the 96 Bulls fresh off a ring, he asked to be traded, in his prime to a mediocre Suns team. The suns weren't historic. The suns were... well, the suns.
Because it's competitive sports? It's a form of entertainment, and a surrogate by which modern humans, who are largely insulated from the perils of the natural world, can live vicariously through to satisfy their innate pursuit of competition and struggle against real or perceived odds. Furthermore, going by your logic, you would find nothing wrong with putting all the superstars in the league on one team and play them against the rest of the league. All the superstars would live "more enjoyable" and "more comfortable" lives, while winning X number of championships.
Think about how much that Dirk title in 2011 meant to him and his legacy. How many does KD need to win in GS to equal that 1 Dirk ring? 4? 5? 6? 10? If Dirk just quit and signed with Lebron in Miami for example, and proceeded to win 4 or 5 rings it wouldn't have meant nearly as much.
Of course there's nothing wrong with that. If the companies / teams are logistically able to do that, then more power to the players. However, because of financial rules of the NBA and basic human nature (you want as much money as possible, because one's prime doesn't last that long) serve to curb this line of thinking. Obviously all NBA players want rings. But they want money and fame as well, so not all of them can be on one team without sacrificing money. And, obviously, it wouldn't feel as good beating up on D-League stars if you were Harden and your teammates were LeBron, Durant, Leonard and Curry. I get your first point, but personally, I don't live vicariously through sports to satisfy anything. If the team I root for loses because the opposing team is better than mine, then that's that. If the player's association or a player like LeBron or Kyrie tip their hats to GS and continue to have an positive attitude towards the state of the NBA even though they lost badly to a team like GS, I don't see why I, as a person far removed from the NBA, shouldn't also have positive attitude towards the NBA. Do I wish there was more parity? Sure! But at the same time, if you don't want to view the product, then just stop watching. Obviously difficult if you're a fanatic, but I'm not. If you absolutely NEED the NBA to have something to live through, then try a different outlet. Different sports, different leagues, etc. If you can't do that, then I'm in no capacity to help the people that live/breathe the NBA as fans.
Durant did his time and gave OKC a lot of years. But, he earned the right to play wherever he wanted. I'm not upset with the guy. He did his time. Sure, the season was pretty boring for most fans because we all knew Golden State would win. But, Durant is playing by the rules that were negotiated by the players and the owners. The NBA may be broken. But, it's not Durant's fault.
