For every action, there is a reaction; Kevin Durant has learned this the hard way since leaving the OKC Thunder.
In life we make decisions. Some of these pay off. For example, Kevin Durant left the OKC Thunder to chase a ring. Durant managed to join one of the best teams of all time and sure enough, got his ring. Will the ridicule stop because of this Championship? The simple answer is no.
I do want to thank Durant for all the joy he gave the OKC Thunder supporters over the years, I will never forget the way he played with the greatest ever OKC Thunder player, Russell Westbrook. He was a great wing man, but ultimately not good enough to win a Championship on a team who did not have the players to take the heat off him.
The Durant Departure signaled a new chapter for the OKC Thunder. Sam Presti has worked his magic and the OKC Thunder are back in contention just one year after he left.
The ESPY’s
So, the reason Durant needs this change in staff? Because he is making a fool of himself on an international scale. I am from Australia and I saw the most recent embarrassing reaction at the recent ESPY’s from here.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/885291554105118720
Peyton Manning just said what most of the world is thinking. Some may point to the fact that he won the Finals MVP to say how well Durant played. I’m sorry, the work done previously by his established talented teammates is what allowed Durant to have a break out Finals campaign. Also, Manning made a joke, pretty sure as the host this is his job. Durant’s reaction was … interesting. Some thought Durant was playing along, but his post ESPY tweet seemed to confirm the star was legitimately salty.
Poor Choices
Unfortunately for Durant, the way he refused to comment about what was going to happen in free agency was not a good move. Then when he made the decision to leave without giving the OKC Thunder a chance to get anything for all resources they invested into him was one of many poor PR choices.
The next poor PR choice was to go to the team who knocked the OKC Thunder out of the Playoffs the year before. I am not going to say Durant tanked Game 7 vs the Warriors in 2016, but you have to admit his decisions since then have led many to think unfavorably of Durant. Couple this with comments he was openly cheering for the Cavaliers to beat the Warriors in 2016 and told Draymond Green after Game 7 of the finals he was coming to Golden State and it gave people fair reason to wonder.
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When the Golden State Warriors came back to OKC during this season, it seemed like Durant wanted to provoke the team and the crowd. Getting into a head butting match with Andre Roberson was nothing short of irresponsible for someone with a tarnished image.
When notoriously dirty ZaZa Pachulia knocked Russ down and then stood over him there was genuine hate from fans.. Then of course there were the comments about not playing for a contending team.
The Problem Still Exists
However, all of that aside, someone should have warned Durant that Peyton Manning would probably make him the butt of a joke,. They should have prepared Durant as to how to react. Sitting there with salt shining through just gives people more ammunition. It just looks to me like Durant is going to to keep getting shade thrown at him because of his inability to handle it.
I respect Durant’s decision to change employers, I have done so on several occasions myself. What I do not respect is the bridge-burning mentality nor his decisions and comments since this change.