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having KD on the Warriors will only cut Steph Curry numbers down which opens the door for Bron to come through and snag his 5th MVP, he has all the momentum coming off this championship run...
here's an article that support my claims...
here's an article that support my claims...
Kevin Durant just kicked the door wide open for LeBron James to win his fifth NBA Most Valuable Player award.
And that's not the only way Durant may have helped further cement James' legacy among basketball's very best by choosing Monday to join the Golden State Warriors.
There are very real comparisons between the decision Durant made – leaving the only franchise he's ever known in Oklahoma City (and before that, Seattle) to link up with three All-Stars and the 2015 champion Warriors – and James' choice in 2010 to bolt Cleveland for the Miami Heat.
Those comparisons, which we'll get to shortly, can color rose the marks James left on his otherwise sparkling basketball career when he went on national TV to say in essence he was going to decimate Cleveland's basketball franchise to join with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.
The short version is, history will likely look more kindly upon James now that Durant has apparently pulled the trigger on a two-year, $54.3 million deal with the Warriors that he'll sign in a few days.
But let's start with the MVPs. James wants another, regardless of what he's said in public. And, based on what he's said in public, he's been miffed over finishing third the last two seasons in MVP voting, while Stephen Curry won the award both years despite being surrounded by Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Durant, a former MVP who is averaging 27.4 points over his career, should end Curry's run as MVP. How could Curry be the most valuable player in the NBA when he plays on a team that now clearly has enough star power to win a title without him?
By the same token, Durant is also now effectively finished as an MVP candidate. The Warriors set an NBA record with 73 wins last season without him.
James, 31, has averaged 25.3 points per game in each of his last two seasons with the Cavs – second-lowest of his career. He shot the ball reasonably well in 2015-16 (52 percent), but that was mostly because he worked his way to the hoop at a much higher rate than normal. His 30.9-percent shooting from 3-point range was the second worst of his 13 seasons.
But the "drop the mic, hand the man the trophy" statistic in James' favor is that Cleveland is 4-15 in the last two seasons without him. He has, of course, entirely changed the culture of the organization, helped lift Kyrie Irving to new heights, and coaxed the best out of players like J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye and Matthew Dellavedova (now gone to Milwaukee). Also, if you need more, he remains a top-five NBA scorer, and his 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists are unique in the league for someone scoring at least 25 points each night.
And, yes, the Cavs won the East.
If Curry had Green and Thompson by his side (before the Durant decision), then one could say the same of James with Irving and Kevin Love. But Irving was injured for the first part of last season, and Love has suffered through fits and starts trying to mesh in Cleveland. And it all traces back to the Cavs' record in games when James doesn't play.
They need him in a way Golden State does not need any one of its now four stars.
Throw in the basketball world's admiration for James leading the Cavs to the 2016 championship, thus completing one of the greatest stories in American sports, and MVP voters may be looking for a reason to give James the nod in a way they weren't over the past couple seasons.
If James wins his fifth MVP, it ties him with Michael Jordan and Bill Russell for the second-most in history. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have more. That's a legacy.
When it comes to how James will be viewed when he finally retires, he likely already etched his image in stone by leading the Cavs to their first title last month, erasing a 52-year championship drought in Cleveland – the city he devastated six years ago.
The images of that night in Oakland, James embracing teammates and shedding cheers of joy after posting a triple-double in decisive Game 7, scrubbed the memory of "taking my talents to South Beach" for even some of the most ardent LeBron haters.
The vitriol that flowed toward James for leaving Cleveland will probably dwarf what comes to Durant, and that's a good thing. It perhaps represents some small measure of growth among fans, maybe showing an understanding that this is the system the NBA and its players have created, and that any player should feel free to work where he wants and earn as much money as he desires.
Durant was not from Oklahoma City. He's a Washington D.C. native. He played for the Thunder for all eight years of its existence in OKC, going with the franchise when it moved from Seattle in 2008. He isn't quite the favorite son there that James was in Cleveland, but only because James was born about 40 miles south in Akron. It's a close comparison.
Perhaps Durant won't be crushed for his move quite to the degree James was because, essentially, James did it first. (There is also the salt-in-the-wound angle of James announcing his move during an ESPN special, offending millions of Ohioans, while Durant only offended journalists by breaking news on a publishing website for athletes, the Players' Tribune).
From the on-the-court, competitive balance perspective, one could argue what Durant is doing is "worse."
Both men made their choices – James to the Heat, Durant to the Warriors – with winning multiple titles in mind. James' Cavs had lost in two of the last three playoffs to Boston entering the summer of 2010, and the roster situation in Cleveland was such that an end to the C's rule was hard to fathom.
So James, Wade, and Bosh got together in Miami to end the Celtics' reign. James – not Boston – has been to the last six Finals representing the East. James and the Heat's Big 3 won twice, but it lost two Finals, too.
Durant, meanwhile, was a leader on an Oklahoma City team that authored one of the largest collapses in Western Conference finals history, blowing a 3-1 lead to the Warriors. In a Game 6 at home, Durant shot 10-of-31 from the field and Golden State won by 7, shifting the series back to the Bay.
The Warriors then went on to author the largest collapse in Finals history by blowing a 3-1 lead to the Cavs. They pitched Durant on needing him to return to their championship form. But Durant didn't need the Warriors to win a title – he could've gone to the Finals by playing just a little better on his own in Game 6.
With Durant, the Warriors are of course going to be prohibitive favorites to win the 2017 Finals. His joining Golden State does nothing to change the dynamic in the East, where barring catastrophic injuries James and the Cavs will be universally predicted to win.
They also have new reason to be focused when the season rolls around in October -- the Warriors just got a lot better.
James already led the largest comeback in Finals history against the Warriors, who were already owners of the best regular-season record in league history. Imagine what it does for James' legacy if he leads another upset in June, 2017.
It doesn't seem likely now, just like it didn't seem for most of the past 12 months that James and the Cavs could beat the Warriors in the 2016 Finals.
One million people showed up in downtown Cleveland when James proved everyone wrong.
How many would show if he does it again?
And that's not the only way Durant may have helped further cement James' legacy among basketball's very best by choosing Monday to join the Golden State Warriors.
There are very real comparisons between the decision Durant made – leaving the only franchise he's ever known in Oklahoma City (and before that, Seattle) to link up with three All-Stars and the 2015 champion Warriors – and James' choice in 2010 to bolt Cleveland for the Miami Heat.
Those comparisons, which we'll get to shortly, can color rose the marks James left on his otherwise sparkling basketball career when he went on national TV to say in essence he was going to decimate Cleveland's basketball franchise to join with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.
The short version is, history will likely look more kindly upon James now that Durant has apparently pulled the trigger on a two-year, $54.3 million deal with the Warriors that he'll sign in a few days.
But let's start with the MVPs. James wants another, regardless of what he's said in public. And, based on what he's said in public, he's been miffed over finishing third the last two seasons in MVP voting, while Stephen Curry won the award both years despite being surrounded by Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Durant, a former MVP who is averaging 27.4 points over his career, should end Curry's run as MVP. How could Curry be the most valuable player in the NBA when he plays on a team that now clearly has enough star power to win a title without him?
By the same token, Durant is also now effectively finished as an MVP candidate. The Warriors set an NBA record with 73 wins last season without him.
James, 31, has averaged 25.3 points per game in each of his last two seasons with the Cavs – second-lowest of his career. He shot the ball reasonably well in 2015-16 (52 percent), but that was mostly because he worked his way to the hoop at a much higher rate than normal. His 30.9-percent shooting from 3-point range was the second worst of his 13 seasons.
But the "drop the mic, hand the man the trophy" statistic in James' favor is that Cleveland is 4-15 in the last two seasons without him. He has, of course, entirely changed the culture of the organization, helped lift Kyrie Irving to new heights, and coaxed the best out of players like J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye and Matthew Dellavedova (now gone to Milwaukee). Also, if you need more, he remains a top-five NBA scorer, and his 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists are unique in the league for someone scoring at least 25 points each night.
And, yes, the Cavs won the East.
If Curry had Green and Thompson by his side (before the Durant decision), then one could say the same of James with Irving and Kevin Love. But Irving was injured for the first part of last season, and Love has suffered through fits and starts trying to mesh in Cleveland. And it all traces back to the Cavs' record in games when James doesn't play.
They need him in a way Golden State does not need any one of its now four stars.
Throw in the basketball world's admiration for James leading the Cavs to the 2016 championship, thus completing one of the greatest stories in American sports, and MVP voters may be looking for a reason to give James the nod in a way they weren't over the past couple seasons.
If James wins his fifth MVP, it ties him with Michael Jordan and Bill Russell for the second-most in history. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have more. That's a legacy.
When it comes to how James will be viewed when he finally retires, he likely already etched his image in stone by leading the Cavs to their first title last month, erasing a 52-year championship drought in Cleveland – the city he devastated six years ago.
The images of that night in Oakland, James embracing teammates and shedding cheers of joy after posting a triple-double in decisive Game 7, scrubbed the memory of "taking my talents to South Beach" for even some of the most ardent LeBron haters.
The vitriol that flowed toward James for leaving Cleveland will probably dwarf what comes to Durant, and that's a good thing. It perhaps represents some small measure of growth among fans, maybe showing an understanding that this is the system the NBA and its players have created, and that any player should feel free to work where he wants and earn as much money as he desires.
Durant was not from Oklahoma City. He's a Washington D.C. native. He played for the Thunder for all eight years of its existence in OKC, going with the franchise when it moved from Seattle in 2008. He isn't quite the favorite son there that James was in Cleveland, but only because James was born about 40 miles south in Akron. It's a close comparison.
Perhaps Durant won't be crushed for his move quite to the degree James was because, essentially, James did it first. (There is also the salt-in-the-wound angle of James announcing his move during an ESPN special, offending millions of Ohioans, while Durant only offended journalists by breaking news on a publishing website for athletes, the Players' Tribune).
From the on-the-court, competitive balance perspective, one could argue what Durant is doing is "worse."
Both men made their choices – James to the Heat, Durant to the Warriors – with winning multiple titles in mind. James' Cavs had lost in two of the last three playoffs to Boston entering the summer of 2010, and the roster situation in Cleveland was such that an end to the C's rule was hard to fathom.
So James, Wade, and Bosh got together in Miami to end the Celtics' reign. James – not Boston – has been to the last six Finals representing the East. James and the Heat's Big 3 won twice, but it lost two Finals, too.
Durant, meanwhile, was a leader on an Oklahoma City team that authored one of the largest collapses in Western Conference finals history, blowing a 3-1 lead to the Warriors. In a Game 6 at home, Durant shot 10-of-31 from the field and Golden State won by 7, shifting the series back to the Bay.
The Warriors then went on to author the largest collapse in Finals history by blowing a 3-1 lead to the Cavs. They pitched Durant on needing him to return to their championship form. But Durant didn't need the Warriors to win a title – he could've gone to the Finals by playing just a little better on his own in Game 6.
With Durant, the Warriors are of course going to be prohibitive favorites to win the 2017 Finals. His joining Golden State does nothing to change the dynamic in the East, where barring catastrophic injuries James and the Cavs will be universally predicted to win.
They also have new reason to be focused when the season rolls around in October -- the Warriors just got a lot better.
James already led the largest comeback in Finals history against the Warriors, who were already owners of the best regular-season record in league history. Imagine what it does for James' legacy if he leads another upset in June, 2017.
It doesn't seem likely now, just like it didn't seem for most of the past 12 months that James and the Cavs could beat the Warriors in the 2016 Finals.
One million people showed up in downtown Cleveland when James proved everyone wrong.
How many would show if he does it again?
Warriors will most likely be at the top of the West again and he might be out to prove something. Bron will most likely be coasting next regular season again. There's no pressure on that man anymore. 
