Winners Like Winners: Kevin Durant to the Warriors Makes Perfect Sense
Kevin Durant has made his decision and he is headed to play with the Golden State Warriors.
The biggest name in free agency this summer, Durant delivered the news on the 4th of July on the Players Tribune and it let off a boom in the NBA bigger than any firework could.
According to Mark Stein of ESPN, the deal is a 2 year deal worth $54.3 million dollars and gives Durant a player option after year one of the deal.
Personally, I love this deal even though it will make it even harder for my favorite player in Lebron James to capture a repeat title in Cleveland with this juggernaut Golden State has assembled.
There will be naysayers though who don't like to see the rich get richer.
In my opinion though, if you are throwing stones at a guy who decided to join a group of proven winners, then you are the loser.
Durant was honest once the season ended as he said it would be "a basketball decision" and it sure was as he choose the best team to help him WIN basketball games.
Clearly there will be those who have never been great at something, who don't understand what the feeling is like to want to join other greats and collaborate on even more greatness and that is ok.
Hopefully though, even those haters open their eyes and realize how unique and great the opportunity is as fans to see such an amazing collection of players who are all together on one team.
Plus, for Durant, it's a sweet deal. He gets to control his future after this season is over. If he isn't comfortable in his new role, he can leave again in free agency next summer as he has a player option in this deal.
I said from the get go that there was no reason to assume he would do a one plus one deal with the Thunder when he could do it with a better team and organization in either San Antonio or Golden State.
The question will also be raised by some, won't this hurt Durant's legacy in the minds of historians if he were to win a title on such a loaded team?
The answer is clearly no. Look at the pressure he just took on. He chose to join a great team. So anything less than 75 wins and a NBA title will be considered a failure and a license for the critiques to unleash their pent up anger.
He chose to join other greats but that doesn't mean there isn't heightened pressure nor does it mean a title is guaranteed.
And think about this for the aforementioned Lebron James as well... He has essentially flipped the role of villain to Curry, Durant and the Warriors as Lebron will now be cheered as the man who can dethrone the BIG 4 in Golden State. Funny how times can change so quickly.
Plus, if Lebron is able to take down the mighty Warriors, you can take that Jordan agreement as the greatest of all time and put it up in the cupboard as Lebron will surpass MJ with a performance like that.
But back to Durant and good for him. Good for a guy, who has given his heart and soul to a place in Oklahoma City and now has decided he wants a change of scenery. Good for Durant for doing what's best for Durant. It should be admired!
There might not be a bunch of teams that can legitimately compete for a NBA title, but the teams at the top are better than ever, so as the great TO once said, "get your popcorn ready!"
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