It was the biggest off-season move in the NBA: Kevin Durant, the most coveted free agent in basketball, chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors, fresh off their record 73-win regular season and second straight trip to the NBA Finals.
Fans and players alike criticized the move. Why is beyond me.
Whether you’re a casual fan of the Association or a hardcore hoop-head you should love super teams and root for the Golden State. The Warriors shouldn’t be painted as villains they should be vindicated.
After all, Kevin Durant did nothing wrong.
The Thunder franchise got eight years of his service. He put in his time. How long does an employee need to be faithful without movement? Pro sports is the only industry where you have little say where you start your career, and restrictions are put in place to limit your future movement.
(Side note: Isn’t America land of the free, home of the brave? Kevin Durant made the brave decision to exercise his free agency. It might actually be the most American thing he could have done. He might as well scream “No taxation without representation!” after each basket this year.)
What NBA owners didn’t consider when they pushed to cap player salaries in the Collective Bargaining Agreement is that, when money is no longer a factor, other enticements come into play. Quality of life, work environment and chance to win a championship all become bigger draws in free agency, and Durant is no exception to that rule. Would anyone argue that all of those things are much better in the Bay area than in Oklahoma City? If you were thinking about your post-career transition, would it be more appealing to be in Silicon Valley or the plains of Oklahoma?
Yet Durant was chastised, for all the sports cliches that don’t make sense and crumble under any evolved reasoning.
Catch Kevin Durant’s Warriors debut Tuesday night as Golden State takes on the San Antonio Spurs at 10:30 PM ET LIVE on SN1
He wasn’t loyal, critics said. Loyal to the fans that burned his jersey after he walked the streets and gave a million dollars of his own money to help in tornado relief? Didn’t he already prove his loyalty by re-signing with the Thunder five years ago, announcing it with a simple tweet on the same day LeBron James left Cleveland on live television?
There is also the segment of the population who claim Durant made a selfish choice by leaving OKC this summer. Which is also wrong— he’s actually giving up shots, and limelight, in the name of winning. Don’t we want our athletes to leave their ego at the door in the name of team-first goals?
Don’t be mad because Durant doesn’t fit into the preordained sports culture you believe athletes should follow. If the NBA owners want to keep their stars they need to change the incentive structure and create a superior culture.
That’s right, NBA owners. You may think the great players in the NBA work for you because you sign their paychecks. But in actuality you need to work for them if you want them to continue to win for you.
If you want to be mad at anyone, let it be Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett. The Thunder were on pace to be the Warriors before the Warriors. They used to be the fun, young team with a down-to-earth nucleus and rabid fan-base. But James Harden was traded a year before his rookie deal was up, and the OKC was never a player in free agency during Durant’s tenure. Because Bennett refuses to pay the luxury tax, his GM, Sam Presti, has to be creative to stay competitive. In the process, winning becomes further from the chief goal and sole focus of the franchise.
Catch Kevin Durant’s Warriors debut Tuesday night as Golden State takes on the San Antonio Spurs at 10:30 PM ET LIVE on SN1
Compare and contrast that to Golden State, who have found ways to resign Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and have committed to offering Curry and Durant major money even though it means they’ll be a luxury tax player. (They’ve even gone as far as buying the 38th pick in this year’s draft from Milwaukee to select Patrick McCaw who already looks like one of the steals of the draft.)
Of course, much of the anger toward Durant heading into this season is not directed at the fact that he left, but instead where he landed. If he wouldn’t have joined the same team that eliminated him from the playoffs, if he had taken his talents to the cold of New England and suited up for the Celtics, people would have found his decision far more palatable.
Most have said Golden State’s potential excellence with Durant in the lineup has rendered the rest the league irrelevant, but I’d argue quite the opposite. Golden State is an example that any market can become part of the conversation. The Warriors went 13 years without making the postseason. When their new owners took over they were booed when addressing the crowd at Oracle. Yet they made smart hires in Jerry West, Bob Myers and Steve Kerr. They instituted a great culture. And they drafted and developed better than anyone in the league. Those traits are not unique to Golden State. Any city could do that. Utah has an exciting young core. Minnesota is building through the draft. Toronto is now a respected NBA market. These markets over time could build through the draft the way Golden State has to put themselves in position to draw a marquee free agent like Durant.
The other misnomer is that dynasties are toxic and will kill the vitality of the league. Over half of the NBA championships have gone to the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played on teams with multiple hall-of-famers. Yet that was remembered as the glory years of the NBA. Deep down we like them, dominance and dynasties. We want the allure of not just witnessing what might be the best team this year but could we be witnessing the best team of all-time. That’s an allure for fans. People think they love parity but they really don’t. Parity is just a kind word for mediocrity.
The NFL has parity and they also have dropping ratings. The NBA set record ratings in the NBA Finals even though it was a rematch from the year prior.
Because we need someone to loathe we’ve built the Warriors up as villains even though when you examine their make up you realize that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Villains? Really?!
Remember Durant saying his mom was the “real MVP” during his MVP speech in 2014?
Or when Curry thanked his father for the road he paved during his MVP speech the following year? What about the way he writes bible scriptures on his shoes and points upwards thanking God after every made three. The poster boy for Under Armour is the proverbial underdog. He’s far more David than Goliath. Any vitriol toward this Warriors team and its players is little more than manufactured hate.
Pro sports is a cold world. Every year NBA players are shipped by front offices to locales across North America, with no say or consultation. We should have no issues if, during the few times throughout the span of their career they have a voice in where they live and work, they look to go where the sun might be brighter.
So tonight and every other night during this NBA season, find the Warriors game and watch and cheer. Because a win for Durant and the Warriors is a win for controlling your own destiny.