Doc Rivers laments Durant joining Warriors

[Tr1boy]

http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/former-boston-celtics-doc-rivers-paul-pierce-dont-like-kevin-durant-joining-golden-state-warriors

While Doc had his own super team put together coaching the Celts

A guy that has had the luxury to have Griffin, Jordan, Paul on his roster

I dont like what Durant did either...but Doc should be the last guy to complain

[Atzar]

Don't expect a current coach and player to be impartial and logical when assessing a move like this.

They liked the KG and Ray moves because they benefited.  They dislike the Durant move because it hurts them.  That's it.  They can couch their opinions in whatever narrative they want, but in the end it all boils down to self-interest.

[Evantime34]

Doc tried to sign Durant last summer, lol

[hpantazo]

Doc and Pierce are right. It would have been like Lebron joining the Celtics after they eliminated the Cavs in 2008

[celticsclay]

Obviously as Celtics fans we are a bit biased on this, but I always did think there was a big difference between what happened with the Celtics and what has happened with some of these other super teams. When Ray and KG came here they had already tried for about 10 years to win a title. KG was actually 12 years in Minnesota. I don't really have anything against those two for going for it all the last 2-3 years they had left of all-star play. I view it similarly to when a very old Barkley teamed up with Hakeem and an old Pipper or when GP and Malone went to LA for one final run. I can get why people thing that is a bit lane, but older players have always done this. I do think it is a big difference when players that are 25-29 and right in their prime with 5+ years of elite play left join forces when any team in the league would still pay them a full max salary.

I can understand why other people view them the same, but I just never have. 

[celticsclay]

Doc tried to sign Durant last summer, lol

Now this part is true and hilarious

[hpantazo]

Obviously as Celtics fans we are a bit biased on this, but I always did think there was a big difference between what happened with the Celtics and what has happened with some of these other super teams. When Ray and KG came here they had already tried for about 10 years to win a title. KG was actually 12 years in Minnesota. I don't really have anything against those two for going for it all the last 2-3 years they had left of all-star play. I view it similarly to when a very old Barkley teamed up with Hakeem and an old Pipper or when GP and Malone went to LA for one final run. I can get why people thing that is a bit lane, but older players have always done this. I do think it is a big difference when players that are 25-29 and right in their prime with 5+ years of elite play left join forces when any team in the league would still pay them a full max salary.

I can understand why other people view them the same, but I just never have.

Agreed. A proper comparison to th 2008 Celtics would have been Melo joining the Warriors, not Durant. I mean, you never saw guys like Barkley, Ewing, or Malone deciding in the middle of their prime to join Jordan's Bulls

[Tr1boy]

Doc tried to sign Durant last summer, lol

Hilarious...someone should ask him

[Moranis]

Obviously as Celtics fans we are a bit biased on this, but I always did think there was a big difference between what happened with the Celtics and what has happened with some of these other super teams. When Ray and KG came here they had already tried for about 10 years to win a title. KG was actually 12 years in Minnesota. I don't really have anything against those two for going for it all the last 2-3 years they had left of all-star play. I view it similarly to when a very old Barkley teamed up with Hakeem and an old Pipper or when GP and Malone went to LA for one final run. I can get why people thing that is a bit lane, but older players have always done this. I do think it is a big difference when players that are 25-29 and right in their prime with 5+ years of elite play left join forces when any team in the league would still pay them a full max salary.

I can understand why other people view them the same, but I just never have.

Agreed. A proper comparison to th 2008 Celtics would have been Melo joining the Warriors, not Durant. I mean, you never saw guys like Barkley, Ewing, or Malone deciding in the middle of their prime to join Jordan's Bulls

true but it was a vastly different league back then as it relates to contracts, free agency, etc.

[jambr380]

Everybody should hate this. The Celtics actually had the opportunity to sign two max FAs, which is ridiculous. A championship team shouldn't be able to sign the 2nd best player in the NBA - it was a huge problem with the cap spike and it will remain a problem for 2-3 more years. The rest of the NBA will have to wait until the Cavs/Warriors players come off of their $17-18M 'max' deals and need to sign $35M+ max deals.

[86MaxwellSmart]

If the league was gonna bump up the salary cap 20% (or whatever the percentage was)---they should have just gave every player a 20% raise--not let this happen.

I guess there was no real good way to do it though.

[Moranis]

He can lamet it all he wants but it  just comes off as sour grapes from a bitter petty man.

[johnnygreen]

Doc was spot on. From a competitive point of view, what Durant did was embarrassing. The same can be said for the Miami Heat, when LeBron and Bosh joined Wade. To me, free agents forming super teams like this for the sole purpose of winning the title, just cheapens the accomplishment of the championship. In no way should the 2008 Celtics be talked about in the same story. Danny had to actually trade valuable picks and players to get Allen and Garnett. BTW, Allen and Garnett were past their primes when they were traded to the Celtics, where as Durant, LeBron, Bosh and Wade were in the primes of their careers when they joined with their super teams.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Doc was spot on. From a competitive point of view, what Durant did was embarrassing. The same can be said for the Miami Heat, when LeBron and Bosh joined Wade. To me, free agents forming super teams like this for the sole purpose of winning the title, just cheapens the accomplishment of the championship. In no way should the 2008 Celtics be talked about in the same story. Danny had to actually trade valuable picks and players to get Allen and Garnett. BTW, Allen and Garnett were past their primes when they were traded to the Celtics, where as Durant, LeBron, Bosh and Wade were in the primes of their careers when they joined with their super teams.

Correct...NBA "competition" is dead as we knew it....But, this Finals will look like the real thing--and the general public won't know the difference.

[Moranis]

Doc was spot on. From a competitive point of view, what Durant did was embarrassing. The same can be said for the Miami Heat, when LeBron and Bosh joined Wade. To me, free agents forming super teams like this for the sole purpose of winning the title, just cheapens the accomplishment of the championship. In no way should the 2008 Celtics be talked about in the same story. Danny had to actually trade valuable picks and players to get Allen and Garnett. BTW, Allen and Garnett were past their primes when they were traded to the Celtics, where as Durant, LeBron, Bosh and Wade were in the primes of their careers when they joined with their super teams.

Both Miami and Golden State had to make a lot of moves to free up cap space, including letting valuable players go (and some draft picks).  Something feels a little better about making a real trade, but it isn't like those teams just signed these players to minimum contracts and didn't have to make sacrifices. 

I mean obviously it was worth it for the Warriors to sacrifice Barnes, Bogut, Barbosa, Speights, and Ezeli to sign Durant, but that was 2 starters and a number of key bench contributors to free up enough room to sign him.  He didn't just walk through the door and sign with the same team because that just didn't happen (the same core, sure, but not the same team). 

Miami had planned for that off season for three years.  They gave up a lot of victories along the way to make sure they had enough room for 3 max level players and then still had to make even more salary dumping trades that summer (like Cook + a 1st for a 2nd rounder, Beasley for a couple of 2nd rounders, etc.).  Even then they still had to do sign and trades to make it work giving up multiple 1st round picks in that process.