Official NBA 16-17' Season Thread

religiousjedi

Old man.
is a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
May as well call this thread "Warriors 2017 NBA Champs Thread."

Hopefully they turn out like the 2004 Lakers tho. In any case, no point watching next season.
 
I dunno, a bit leery with Durant/Warriors. Although super friends has worked (see Lebron/Bosh/Wade and Miami), aren't the Warriors giving up depth elsewhere? I mean Miami's bench was more or less painfully thin during those super friend years. Sure it's great you have 4 extremely strong starters, but even they need a rest. Not to mention you have to integrate him in and all that stuff whereas the Warriors had great synergy before. This could either work out great or blow up in their faces pretty quickly. Be interesting to see nonetheless, overall I'm leaning towards it working in the end, but at worse they lose in the playoffs and Durant has a change of heart and moves on elsewhere.
 
I know this whole "superteam" period of time in the NBA started with the Celtics in 07-08, but LeBron's the one who really set a dangerous precedent with ditching one team for a stronger one. I figured Durant would leave OKC eventually, but I didn't think he'd take the bitch way out like LeBron did.

Or maybe I'm just salty that Jordan Clarkson is still the best player on the Lakers right now, who knows?
 
Weak af move. Anyone besides dub fans that know a thing or two about being competitive on any level knows how pathetic this is. Truly not what I expected, was sure one more year in okc to take one last shot at bringing down the team that eliminated him in these playoffs was basically set, guess not

I won't waste time getting into how different this is compared to when Bron left for Miami, true same goal but completely different circumstances by far. I will definitely give congratulations to the real warriors fans out there as this signing has made next season extremely interesting but doesn't take away how cowardly of a move this was for KD to join a team that he failed to close out against just two months ago, ironic as he is always spewing something about fake tough guys as well as his tweet from 2010.

Now back to grilling some steaks. Happy fourth to those that celebrate it!
 

Plus

中国风暴 trademark
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis an Artist Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
thought duncan was coming back this year but apparently he's mulling retirement now. hmm i wonder why

thanks for ruining the nba kd :(
 
To be fair, KD singing with anyone but OKC sounds like he'd be called a bitch regardless...I mean, the whole point of free agency is so players aren't restricted to a team right? Sure he's always portrayed himself as a homeboy and maybe he even originally intended to stick with one franchise for a career, but there are very few players in any sport that have long careers and end them with the same team that drafted them; Tim Duncan is probably one of the rare exceptions this day and age. Unlike the Spurs and their general model of consistency for the last decade+, OKC has been hot and cold too erratically in even making the playoffs at times and it's not like they've kept players other important players around like Harden (ok that's a bit debatable, but still), and KD has been rumored to leave pretty much every year he's eligible to since OKC is such a small market. They've hit some good draft picks but they still apparently lack that something being 1-3? in conference finals and 0-1 in championship games throughout KD's career. You can also go into the whole money/marketing stuff further, who the hell outside of the US would be able to tell you where OKC is? Hell people in the US can't even find Oklahoma on a map...at least Seattle was a more recognizable city back in the Supersonic days...

So like Captain Skywalker said, if you're in KD's shoes and a ring means more important than the riches of resigning with 1 team and always being the bridesmaid or worse, you run with it when you have the chance at a bit of a pay cut for a year or two and knowing the cap is just going to jump more when you're ready to go for the big deal (since only Lebron apparently can hold his team hostage for renewed deals every year at a higher rate with the new cap each year). At least KD's doing it at his prime and able to contribute at a high level rather than doing this when he's a mid-30s veteran who will sign the minimum to be on a contender and getting minor action as a bit player off the bench.
 
To be fair, KD singing with anyone but OKC sounds like he'd be called a bitch regardless...
Maybe by a small few or just okc fans but not at the rate it is now. The small few that are attempting to justify his decision keep using the same redundant argument of him wanting to be a winner or for us to imagine ourselves in his shoes. It doesn't hold up, doesn't matter if you're playing in middle school, high school, college or the professional level..you do not join an already successful team if you're a top tier player by leaving your previous team, especially if that same team is the team that eliminated you and your boys with many believing kd himself was at fault for at least two of those last three games being dropped. You just don't do that, you can't say he didn't have the team to pull off a series win against the dubs because he did.

If you can't beat them, join them isn't something a proven leader or a true competitor lives by, KD lost the respect of many and rightfully so. There is an obvious reason why so many of us are disgusted by the move and so very few that approve of it, it's the circumstances as I've stated in a previous post. When it comes down to it, regardless of what anyone thinks, KD is going to be with the warriors next season and it just is what it is. He'll most likely be playing in next year's finals but even if he wins it won't gain him the respect back that he lost, the way it was done isn't anything like the situation with Bron which many will continue to try and compare. It's the biggest bitch move in years by a professional athlete and now we just have to see if it pays off for him, I personally won't waste my time being a hater or wishing the worst for him like others do but I definitely won't be supporting him either.
 
Let's not mistaken selling out with being a true competitor now. The two are quite obviously different, as I said the circumstances set the tone for the backlash, it's warranted and fair. That simple.
 
Maybe by a small few or just okc fans but not at the rate it is now. The small few that are attempting to justify his decision keep using the same redundant argument of him wanting to be a winner or for us to imagine ourselves in his shoes. It doesn't hold up, doesn't matter if you're playing in middle school, high school, college or the professional level..you do not join an already successful team if you're a top tier player by leaving your previous team, especially if that same team is the team that eliminated you and your boys with many believing kd himself was at fault for at least two of those last three games being dropped. You just don't do that, you can't say he didn't have the team to pull off a series win against the dubs because he did.

If you can't beat them, join them isn't something a proven leader or a true competitor lives by, KD lost the respect of many and rightfully so. There is an obvious reason why so many of us are disgusted by the move and so very few that approve of it, it's the circumstances as I've stated in a previous post. When it comes down to it, regardless of what anyone thinks, KD is going to be with the warriors next season and it just is what it is. He'll most likely be playing in next year's finals but even if he wins it won't gain him the respect back that he lost, the way it was done isn't anything like the situation with Bron which many will continue to try and compare. It's the biggest bitch move in years by a professional athlete and now we just have to see if it pays off for him, I personally won't waste my time being a hater or wishing the worst for him like others do but I definitely won't be supporting him either.
The Thunder had their chances to win a chip but blew them. KD simply didn't have teams that could compete down the stretch. It's not comparable to Bron's situation because LeBron didn't build a superteam. But why so many crucified LBJ is that he held an hour long special on TV just to announce he was going to Miami. Instead, KD just announced it on The Player's Tribune. Two different situations. Do I like KD going to Golden State? No. Does it make sense on his part? Hell yes it does. I'm a high school athlete and I will tell you that winning isn't everything but at the professional level, it's wins or money. It's obvious which one I'd choose if I was Durant and trying to cement my legacy. I seriously don't understand why everyone is freaking out and crucifying Durant. It's stupid.
 
I get why people are crucifying him because of what he's said in the past, but I also get the logic of why he left OKC, as OKC's ownership simply does not want to go into the Luxury Tax. There's plenty of evidence as far as transactions go and I think Sam Presti's even said it outright before that he's traded players to stay under the Luxury Tax because the owners don't want to be in it.
 

Mr.E

unban me from Discord
is a Two-Time Past SPL Champion
As someone who doesn't care about having all sorts of fancy and luxurious things, I would take winning over money any day because the difference between many millions and a few more many millions is negligible to my ability to enjoy life outside of my hypothetical profession. Or perhaps more precisely, "how likely am I to win here" is a definitely important factor in choosing which team to sign with. Money is only part of the equation. In the context of the NBA, it's also pretty negligible due to individual salary cap rules anyway because every team is effectively going to offer a superstar the same amount of money by rule (i.e. the maximum allowed).
 
I have zero issues with KD leaving, okc. I also don't really care where most players go as it's their right, especially seeing as teams trade guys away and scrap loyalty like nothing. However I and a good majority don't like the action of one leaving their team to join a team that beat them when they had every opportunity to avoid said defeat/elimination. That's what has the majority irked, in which you can't blame those individuals for that, they're not wrong. I'm sure there is a plethora of individuals all up in their feels about his decision and is spewing all kinds of unnecessary hate towards the guy but for those disapproving of his decision for the reason I stated above I'd say aren't wrong.

I don't believe KD should ultimately be "crucified" for this decision, especially with everything he has done on and off the court for Oklahoma but my only argument throughout each of my recent posts has been to explain the main reason for the backlash, not to charge at the bastard with torches and pitchforks. Has it not? Lol
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top