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I think Durants move shows that people simply will not forget why and how players leave teams these days. While Durant is vilified by some for different reasons, I don't see anyone simply forgetting one of the best players in the league forcing his way off a team with a year left on his contract.
Kawhi’s situation is a lot more analogous with Kyrie’s than Durant’s IMO. I don’t see Kyrie getting beat up for forcing himself out of a better situation than what Kawhi just left.
In some ways, yes, but the reasons behind wanting to move are different. The reasons why something happens, to me, is why someone's decision should be judged. Until we really hear why Kawhi forced this, I'm not sure we can say it will be forgotten or forgiven.
I can't say I know enough of the details to apply his situation to the current players. The league has changed. My recollection is that when injuries started slowing down, his relationship with the team and fans went sour. I don't remember who was at fault.Yeah but people love Vince Carter now so
I had the exact opposite reaction. The stuff clearly bothers him, otherwise he wouldn't be mad online about it all the time. As someone pointed out on twitter yesterday, he never claps back when people criticize his play. Why not? I suspect because he's supremely confident in his talent and his performance, he probably knows he's at worst the second-best basketball player in the world and one of the greatest of all time. He clearly doesn't have the same confidence in his legacy.
Obviously every great player is going to have a certain percentage of haters, but at this point I don't think LeBron has any more than he did before he first left Cleveland for Miami.
It's how i felt about IT4.
We've heard many reasons for Kawhi wanting out, all reported through the media. I am almost 100% sure we'll never hear Kawhi talk about it openly himself.
Everyone in Canada hated Vince for years and years after he left Toronto. Most of the raptor fans I talk to now still dislike him.
Worked for the Kings.
I don't disagree with any of this, but the bolded is the most important. I suppose some fans will judge based on the rumors and innuendo. I would at some point like to see him interviewed on the subject before I pass judgement. I'm sure that will never happen, and I'll pass judgement eventually anyway.
Tell that to @TobiasFunke
Which is a major reason why the Durant/Knicks talk is so strong. Add in another superstar like Kyrie and New York is an East favorite.
With good reason. Vince flat out quit on them. Bill Simmons covered it extensively in his bball book.
Understand the overall sentiment WP, well said. Speaking specifically about IT, he has to take some here though too. He can be an effective player under very specific conditions, teammates, and coaching. It all came together a few seasons ago but nobody really NBA aware bought him as a long-term play. His defense is horrible, he needs the ball to be effective, his personality can rub teammates and members of the organization the wrong way, and he seems to be incapable of avoiding social media and all that eventually comes of it. Crack on Ainge all you want but he made the right call on IT.
Agreed on Kawhi. I too hope he doesn't become a cautionary tale because on the court he is an absolute joy to watch. He's the single most versatile/best wing defender since Scottie Pippen and the strides he's made on offense are legendary. The amount of good will and money he's already cost himself will probably never be recouped.
The point was that everyone disliked Vince during the Toronto debacle. And now most people like him. Which means a player who is viewed negatively by almost every NBA fan can turn around his legacy over time.
I know a team in the east that already has two all-stars under control for the long term that could use Durant. Plus they're in his hometown and we already know fans love the "superstar becomes hometown hero" angle. Plus this potential Durant burner account seemed to be contemplating just such a move.
It's sad to note that the Leprechaun checked w the Celtics about his old job without response before signing with the Nugs. But i finally get it - the Li'l Fella's unprecedented season (and i rank it up there with any Celtic season in my 50+ yrs as a fan) was as much about Stevens making it possible as IT paying it off and that, while his system could set a guy like that free, the plan couldnt reach its fullness with a player they had to hide on D. Hip & hubris brought it to an ugly end, i know, but my sense of sport makes me feel strongly (unlike the rest of New England) that Brady gets to go out the way he wants and Isaiah gets his 3/$100MM for what they left on the field of play.
Well, to be fair Danny wasn't criticizing the team or the medical staff when he said he should have had a second opinion. He was actually defending both Kawhi and the team docs in that interview, and said the Spurs medical staff is great and have always done a great job. His point was just that sometimes things get missed and it's important to be thorough with injuries, but of course the spin ignored the context. With regards to Aldridge, he was coming off a disappointing season where his touches dropped and he felt he wasn't fitting in the way he wanted. Pop talked to him about it, acknowledged it was his mistake and that he had tried to change LaMarcus' game too much, and from then on things were good and he had a fantastic season getting back to his old game as the offensive focus.
I was just poking fun, but I can see in a couple of our exchanges today is your propensity to use sweeping generalizations expecting the reader to actually put your statement into context. I'll update my notebook for future exchanges.
I apologize for assuming that you would know that "people love Vince Carter now" was not intended to mean "every single NBA fan on the planet without exception loves Vince Carter," but rather "most people like Vince Carter." This seemed fairly obvious to me, but I'll update my expectations for future exchanges.
Rick Pitino was wrong...he is coming back thru that door again...
could be some truth to this, though fundamentally it just seems like Kawhi is a very different kind of cat. Very shy, awkward, social difficulty. so once he gets something in his head, may be tough to get him in a different mindset and he is not a good communicator/receiver.
It's intriguing but it would be such a monumental change. Too many people's dollars would be at stake. Ad revenue, screen time, tv deals. Then there's the individual player achievements that would be cut off if a set score was the end game.
Yeah, this is the other part of the equation. Kawhi’s different, like you say. It’s possible he is fully onboard with this whole plan, and didn’t need anyone to come up with it for him at all. But if it’s hard to change his mind and he doesn’t communicate well it would be tough to undo the influence of anyone he does decide to let in. The dots just seem to connect that his uncle is a big part of things, in any case.Long Ball Larry said:
It's actually pretty good the more I look at all the possible scenarios. But I agree it's extremely unlikely with all the things that come along with it that have been previously mentioned.
The young guys is who they are really trying to develop and see what they have. No point in bringing in semi-young vets who can tempt Walton to stealing minutes.
i'll disagree that the Lakers wouldn't benefit from identifying some cheap depth on their team. I am amazed that a team with no GM can have a better summer than multiple teams in the league.
I'm completely amazed by athletes who can stay disciplined throughout a 10-15 year athletic career where someone has millions of dollars. I would fall apart and go off the rails within 3 years.
If they sign anyone longer than 1 year it messes up their cap space. Might as well use 1 year deals on vets to push the young cats.
Its pretty obvious what the approach has been this summer. It's strange people aren't able to pick up on it. People can legitimately quibble about whether some of these vets will be good influences - I think the gamble there is that having James around as a role model and locker room leader will more than offset the potential goofiness of some of the rentals. Also, if a rental or two becomes a problem, it shouldn't be too hard to ship them out given their relatively low salary one year deals.
Sixers have been doing this strategy for few years, but they seem to have a plan with it. You get some cheap one year rentals who can give a good locker room presence like Amir Johnson, etc., or you take a chance on some guys and can grow on the cheap. I just don't know why they chose the guys they did, could have got other guys on 1 year deals that would have made a ton more sense. it just makes a ton more sense to do the 1-year deal with a guy like Boogie or a bunch of other options (Tyreke, etc.) who have the chance to be with the team for a few years. I mean out of their free agent signings, who will be on the team next year? i would guess LeBron and KCP cause he is a part of Klutch. SO you let the other guys go, but then who fills their spots? If the Lakers had a plan or thought it out a bit more, you could bring on a Tyreke Evans or Boogie, and pay them a bit more this year as a sign of good faith, and if they can sign another max player next year you get a guy who knows the system from this year and can come cheaper.
they should focus more on unloading Deng contract for whatever it takes (a 1st or 2) if they were thinking about cap space. With LeBron, chances are they won't be a lottery team for next few years, so trade a pick or 2 and get all that money back. if not, use the money on potential plans for the future, not just getting a potential reality show they can market
