What happens when a single NBA player decides to switch teams? Normally, no one blinks an eye. But in the case of Kevin Durant, nothing was normal.
Born just outside of Washington D.C., all Kevin Durant wanted was to play basketball in the NBA. His favorite team was the Toronto Raptors. It was simple: they had Vince Carter, other NBA teams didn’t. What Durant didn’t know was that he would one day be a bigger star than Carter ever was. Not just in basketball, but in the entire sports world itself. Durant would make a decision during the 2016 NBA offseason that made LeBron James going to Miami look like child’s play. This decision would cause him to lose respect from NBA fans worldwide. Kevin Durant going to the Golden State Warriors changed everything. And I’m not sure this change was for the better.
“Chaos is a ladder”
If you’re like me and love HBO’s Game Of Thrones, then you’ll remember the scene where Peter “Littlefinger” Baelish utters the phrase: “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” To Kevin Durant, the only way he was going to succeed was to create chaos in the NBA. Chaos like we’ve never seen. And in creating this chaos, Durant had to begin a climb up the ladder of chaos into NBA history. The repercussions of Durant’s move to the Bay Area is still having an effect on teams today.
This “climb up the ladder” for KD wasn’t easy (contrary to popular belief). It required him to stop caring about what everyone had to say. He had to stop listening to other’s opinions on him because they were all going to be negative. “KD is soft.” “Durant’s a snake.” “Kevin Durant joined a super-team because he can’t win on his own.” These are things that have been said and are still being said to this day. Sure, Durant left OKC and Russell Westbrook to go play with the deadliest shooting backcourt in NBA history, the Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time MVP, and a coach who has one of the greatest offensive minds in the game. So, yeah, you could say from a basketball standpoint that this made things easier for Durant. It did. But don’t discredit the hate for Durant that has spanned over a year and over all sports, even into everyday life.
Teams are becoming super
After a gentleman’s sweep of the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Durant won the NBA Finals MVP. No surprise there, Durant was electric against Cleveland, averaging 35 ppg, 8 rpg, and 5 apg. No one was shocked that the Dubs were the team celebrating after the final second of time in the 2016-17 NBA season. It was expected. What wasn’t expected was what happened afterwards.
Let’s skip ahead a few weeks later, after the Finals were over and everyone was focused on the NBA Draft. Draft night went pretty much as expected until Jimmy Butler got traded to the Timberwolves, along with the 16th pick, for the 7th pick, Zach Lavine, and Kris Dunn. This trade shocked the NBA and created a young core in Minnesota of JB, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins. What seemed like a huge move at the time would just be the first domino to fall.
Next, the Atlanta Hawks would dump the former best big man in the NBA, Dwight Howard, and a draft pick off to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for two veterans and a draft pick.
In what may have been the biggest move of the offseason, Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for SEVEN players, draft picks, and cash considerations. Paul will now suit up alongside MVP candidate James Harden to try and rival the Warriors out in the West.
Durant’s former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, didn’t want to be left out of title consideration, so they traded Victor Oladipo and Domantis Sobanis for Pacer’s All-Star Paul George. George now will be playing with NBA MVP Russell Westbrook to also try and unseat the Dubs atop the NBA.
In what was, in my opinion, the most shocking trade of the NBA offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Net’s 2018 1st-round pick. The Cavs blew up their championship roster for two reasons: 1), they needed to get deeper. 2), they need to prepare for the fact that LeBron James might leave Cleveland in 2018. I think Cleveland only got better, and Boston made it harder to beat the Cavs. Either way, neither team is coming close to beating the Warriors. And that’s the whole point of this article.
What this means
Even after all of these teams improving (while others just prepare for the future), the Warriors are just superior to everyone by such a wide margin, it’s not even fair. Golden State’s front office has created a monster by adding Kevin Durant, and this monster is going to haunt every single NBA team’s dreams for years to come.
Durant’s move to Golden State was a simple one: one to achieve glory. One thing no one can take away from KD is that he is an NBA champion. People just have a problem with how he got that ring. They say he’s disloyal, rude, or selfish, but, to me, he was only one thing: Hungry.
Only one thing is for sure: His move to GSW will make one hell of a documentary.
What are your thoughts on how Kevin Durant’s move changed the NBA today? Tell us below or on twitter @teenviewmag!
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