If Durant decides to go with GSW, what will your reaction be?

[tankcity!]

I just don't see how he suddenly stops being a great player just because he decides that getting the most touches on offense is less important to him than winning championships.

You say "just because he decides that getting the most touches on offense is less important to him than winning championships" - I say riding the coat tails of better players because he's not confident enough in his own abilities to be the leader and primary figure of a championship team.

And I said he wouldn't be a superstar anymore, though still a star, not a great player as you said. Instead of being MVP-level, he'd be more like Butler/Derozan level of a secondary star.

You're entitled to feel the way you're gonna feel about it.

Like I said, if that's what KD chooses, it means he doesn't care about how it looks. He just wants to win.

You have to admit though, it would affect his legacy. He's never won a ring. If he wants to be the next Jordan, or even considered better than Lebron, this is the wrong decision for his career. Right now, it's hard to say who is better between him and Curry. Most would probably say Curry unfairly. Durant has been in a terrible offensive system so we really have never seen his potential maximized.

[tankcity!]

I just don't see how he suddenly stops being a great player just because he decides that getting the most touches on offense is less important to him than winning championships.

I get what you are saying (at least I think I do): The talent is still there, but obviously it may not be 100% used, so to speak.  I think he would still be a great player as well--talent-wise--but his legacy is going to take a hit in terms of he went from being a true leader to a Robin.

I agree that it changes his legacy, potentially.

But my supposition is that if he chooses the Warriors, it means he would prefer to be a guy that won a title as just one of a group of a very good players on a great team, as opposed to being a lead scorer with awesome counting stats over his whole career who never wins a title.

Just saw this. I understand what you mean now.

[mctyson]

I just don't see how he suddenly stops being a great player just because he decides that getting the most touches on offense is less important to him than winning championships.

I get what you are saying (at least I think I do): The talent is still there, but obviously it may not be 100% used, so to speak.  I think he would still be a great player as well--talent-wise--but his legacy is going to take a hit in terms of he went from being a true leader to a Robin.

I agree that it changes his legacy, potentially.

But my supposition is that if he chooses the Warriors, it means he would prefer to be a guy that won a title as just one of a group of a very good players on a great team, as opposed to being a lead scorer with awesome counting stats over his whole career who never wins a title.

Just saw this. I understand what you mean now.

It's not HIS legacy.  GSW set the all-time record for wins in a season without HIM.  If he goes there, he is ring chasing.  That's it.

[jpotter33]

I just don't see how he suddenly stops being a great player just because he decides that getting the most touches on offense is less important to him than winning championships.

I get what you are saying (at least I think I do): The talent is still there, but obviously it may not be 100% used, so to speak.  I think he would still be a great player as well--talent-wise--but his legacy is going to take a hit in terms of he went from being a true leader to a Robin.

I agree that it changes his legacy, potentially.

But my supposition is that if he chooses the Warriors, it means he would prefer to be a guy that won a title as just one of a group of a very good players on a great team, as opposed to being a lead scorer with awesome counting stats over his whole career who never wins a title.

Just saw this. I understand what you mean now.

It's not HIS legacy.  GSW set the all-time record for wins in a season without HIM.  If he goes there, he is ring chasing.  That's it.

Yep. No better than Ray Allen or James Jones at that point.

[fantankerous]

I just don't see how he suddenly stops being a great player just because he decides that getting the most touches on offense is less important to him than winning championships.

I get what you are saying (at least I think I do): The talent is still there, but obviously it may not be 100% used, so to speak.  I think he would still be a great player as well--talent-wise--but his legacy is going to take a hit in terms of he went from being a true leader to a Robin.

I agree that it changes his legacy, potentially.

But my supposition is that if he chooses the Warriors, it means he would prefer to be a guy that won a title as just one of a group of a very good players on a great team, as opposed to being a lead scorer with awesome counting stats over his whole career who never wins a title.

I agree with this.  Perhaps KD cares more about being happy in the present than about a dubious category like "legacy."

Edit:  only celticsblog could make me embrace the postmodern historiography (particularly its rejection of grand narratives) that I've spent my career refuting.  But the truth regarding basketball is that this Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. doesn't matter this much.  It doesn't contain as much meaning as fans project into it.

[PhoSita]

I'm just saying, Im sure a lot of guys would rather have Pippen or McHale's career if the alternative was to be Malone, Nash, or Barkley.

[tankcity!]

I'm just saying, Im sure a lot of guys would rather have Pippen or McHale's career if the alternative was to be Malone, Nash, or Barkley.

Yeah, maybe Dwayne Wade, but Kevin Durant could be the best player in the game if he's in the right situation. That's why it's disappointing to me. He could win next year with OKC. Almost did this year before they blew it.

[Beat LA]

My reaction would be 'good luck getting enough shots for everyone', and Golden State's defense would be appreciably worse, imo, lol . The whole thing would just be a 2K trade, to me, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he decided to sign there.  It also wouldn't surprise me to see him go to Miami, but who knows, at this point.

[passesofftodj]

I would never consider him a champion no matter how many rings he gets.  That team doesn't need him to win, they already have.

It would be the most egregious example of front running "if you can't beat them join them " philosophy imaginable.  I would have zero respect for him and immediately consider the NBA a complete farcical joke...even beyond what it already is.

The fact he is even considering Golden State is revolting.  He just blew a 3-1 lead on them, why would you want to then join them instead of figuring out how to topple them once and for all? 

I don't think I understand the thinking of millennials. 

[chiken Green]

#1  All this Ruined legacy talk is killing me.. What legacy?  Currently his legacy is he is Lebrons Girlfriend.. thats about it..
What was Malone's, Barkley's, Dominique s, Iverson's, Mcgrady's, Carters legacy...   Better yet.. who cares.. They never won a chip, no one cares about them.. You only care about the guy who beat them.. Thats life.  Each one of them would probably tell you to a man that they would trade all their "stories" in for just one ring..

Champions have Legacy's.. Good/Great players just have Stories.

#2 MOST (or maybe just some) of you want him to come to Boston with Hortford and then you want us to Sell the Farm and Get butler oh and lets throw in Okafor..  Basically wanting to create a "GSW" situation here.. But then get mad a claim his legacy is tarnished if he actually goes to GS...  What in the world is that all about..

oh wait - he would be the leader here so it would be all good... lol..  But he cant go to GS and lead there. (Say what you want about curry but after that last finals that Golden boy rep is seriously tarnished)

IF he comes to Boston Fine - but if he goes anywhere else that's fine too.. We are Celtics, we should look forward to that challenge.

[Future Celtics Owner]

My reaction would be the same. Very disappointed. Ainge has done a horrific job, and even negligent in regards to keeping USURPER'S, but the past 2 drafts have been spectacularly horrific. We might as well trade the 2017 Nets pick now for someone like Okafor because it won't matter if we get the first pick bc he will draft a guy he could have traded down for @7-10. I still hope Jaylen turn out to be great but we need to respect our assets and their value and I really think Ainge is hit or miss, and even worse IMO many of his good moves have been due to the value the market placed on certain assets at certain times.

We have gotten bailed out with the changes over time in the NBA market and how it asses value. Getting what we did for KG and PP, signing CBS, he certainly did not fleece AB and Crowder (bc at the time they were given very good contracts), and doing a value-based trade in getting IT.

[Clench123]

My reaction would be the same. Very disappointed. Ainge has done a horrific job, and even negligent in regards to keeping USURPER'S, but the past 2 drafts have been spectacularly horrific. We might as well trade the 2017 Nets pick now for someone like Okafor because it won't matter if we get the first pick bc he will draft a guy he could have traded down for @7-10. I still hope Jaylen turn out to be great but we need to respect our assets and their value and I really think Ainge is hit or miss, and even worse IMO many of his good moves have been due to the value the market placed on certain assets at certain times.

We have gotten bailed out with the changes over time in the NBA market and how it asses value. Getting what we did for KG and PP, signing CBS, he certainly did not fleece AB and Crowder (bc at the time they were given very good contracts), and doing a value-based trade in getting IT.

This

[jpotter33]

#1  All this Ruined legacy talk is killing me.. What legacy?  Currently his legacy is he is Lebrons Girlfriend.. thats about it..
What was Malone's, Barkley's, Dominique s, Iverson's, Mcgrady's, Carters legacy...   Better yet.. who cares.. They never won a chip, no one cares about them.. You only care about the guy who beat them.. Thats life.  Each one of them would probably tell you to a man that they would trade all their "stories" in for just one ring..

Champions have Legacy's.. Good/Great players just have Stories.

#2 MOST (or maybe just some) of you want him to come to Boston with Hortford and then you want us to Sell the Farm and Get butler oh and lets throw in Okafor..  Basically wanting to create a "GSW" situation here.. But then get mad a claim his legacy is tarnished if he actually goes to GS...  What in the world is that all about..

oh wait - he would be the leader here so it would be all good... lol..  But he cant go to GS and lead there. (Say what you want about curry but after that last finals that Golden boy rep is seriously tarnished)

IF he comes to Boston Fine - but if he goes anywhere else that's fine too.. We are Celtics, we should look forward to that challenge.

Perhaps you should read the arguments before characterizing them wrongly 

[MaxAMillion]

I wouldn't have a problem with it. These players are human beings. They get trashed when they don't win titles and then get trashed when they try to go to better situations to get a championship. Lebron never did anything to hurt anyone, yet he got trashed his entire time in Cleveland for not winning a ring. His supporting class and coaching was garbage but no one cared. I was glad to see him go to Miami and I root for him every year.

People will trash Lebron who has never committed a significant crime while giving a standing ovation to Kobe Bryant (C's fans nauseated me with that nonsense last year). I will root for both Lebron and Durant because they have every right to try and play with the best teammates possible. Maybe if people actually judged players by their talent and abilities rather than titles, they wouldn't feel like they are under such great pressure to put themselves on the best roster possible.

[trickybilly]

Look forward to beating up on GSW in the regular season. Maybe he will see the folly of his choice, opt-out, and come to meet his destiny