The Kevin Durant Conundrum...

[Osmosis]

Not one, not two, not three.. Man we can have Pat Rilety run point, thats how easy this finna be.

The Cavs, Heat, and Lakers don't make the playoffs without Lebron. If they do, they lose in the first round. None of those teams were as stacked as the 90s Bulls, 80s Lakers, 80s Celtics, etc. The same Warriors core won 73 games and 2 chips without KD.

Except stacking the team in your favor and winning the chip are 2 different things, Bron stack his teams to give himself an easier chance (keyword) to win instead of building like a Mike or Steph

mike and steph had their teams draft in the lottery repeatedly because they couldn't win in their early years. those lottery picks were all-stars. lebron made the cavs a 50-60 win team instantly and the best his team could do is jj hickson. Mike and Steph didn't build shyt.

 

[Shadow King]

Let's be honest, if KD never went to Golden state... does he have a ring?

If he didn't join a 70 win team off of 2 finals runs, with an MVP on it, does he win?

That matters. People like to ignore it with "2 finals mvps" but the reality is that if he can't win again outside of Golden state, then the question becomes:

"How do we know other ringless players couldn't have won if they didn't hop on the Warriors?"

How do we know Karl Malone wouldn't have won a ring if he didn't just join the Bulls? Or if Reggie Miller joined the Bulls?

Prime TMac and prime Carmelo probably win on the Warriors, especially with how Curry was willing to defer.

The reality is that if KD doesn't join golden state, his legacy would be between Dirk and Karl Malone and James Harden - top 15-20 all time.

He's in this range with 2 rings, though I don't think Harden is Top 20 all time so you could say they'd both be in the same boat.

 

[Ozymandeas]

Are you trolling? No player in the league is winning with that

He was trolling like a muthafukka but, that's typical Bron Stan shyt

 

[duckbutta]

Only ever won win he went to a team that already won titles before and after he got there

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Except stacking the team in your favor and winning the chip are 2 different things, Bron stack his teams to give himself an easier chance (keyword) to win instead of building like a Mike or Steph

So Steph didn't get KD so he'd have an easier chance to win? MJ didn't get Rodman so he'd have an easier chance to win?

You continue to talk nonsense. If you just admitted to yourself that the distinction revolves around hating Bron, it would be easier for you to process.

 

[fifth column]

So Steph didn't get KD so he'd have an easier chance to win? MJ didn't get Rodman so he'd have an easier chance to win?

You continue to talk nonsense. If you just admitted to yourself that the distinction revolves around hating Bron, it would be easier for you to process.

I don’t hate Bron or anyone, get that weird stan shyt out the way. Steph won before KD joined and Mike won before Rodman joined. What did Bron win prior to joining up with Wade and Bosh? Unlike Bron, MJ and Steph stayed and took their lumps until they won as opposed to Bron who dipped and continue to dip when situations get sticky.

 

[murksiderock]

Let's be honest, if KD never went to Golden state... does he have a ring?

If he didn't join a 70 win team off of 2 finals runs, with an MVP on it, does he win?

That matters. People like to ignore it with "2 finals mvps" but the reality is that if he can't win again outside of Golden state, then the question becomes:

"How do we know other ringless players couldn't have won if they didn't hop on the Warriors?"

How do we know Karl Malone wouldn't have won a ring if he didn't just join the Bulls? Or if Reggie Miller joined the Bulls?

Prime TMac and prime Carmelo probably win on the Warriors, especially with how Curry was willing to defer.

The reality is that if KD doesn't join golden state, his legacy would be between Dirk and Karl Malone and James Harden - top 15-20 all time.

Taking into consideration that thos season isn't yet complete, Durant has played 13 non-Warrior seasons. Just for context, Magic, Bird, and Russell are Top 10 GOATs and each played 13 years of pro basketball. 13 years is a full career...

Here's Durant's 13-year, non-Warrior resume:

•0-1 Finals, 1-3 WCF
•'14 MVP (+5x Top 5 finish, 3x runner-up), '12 AMVP, '08 ROY
•7x All-NBA (5x 1st Team), 10x All-Star
•4x scoring champ, '13 50-40-90

This isn't a better resume than Mailman. This is an inferior resume to Elgin. It's not definitively a stronger resume than Barkley or Iverson...

If Durant never went to GS, he wouldn't be considered Top 20. He'd more likely be in that 25-30 range of players...

That GS stint is the reason he's considered Top 15 at present, and underscores your point that in a 13-year non-GS career there's yet to be any indication he can win it all. Fair or not, when people really look back at his career they'll give more introspection to his non-GS career than they did in real time while he played...

 

[Professor Emeritus]

I don’t hate Bron or anyone, get that weird stan shyt out the way. Steph won before KD joined and Mike won before Rodman joined. What did Bron win prior to joining up with Wade and Bosh?

Yeah, because Bron's roster in Cleveland is comparable to the '91 Bulls or the '15 Warriors.

Breh, don't make idiotic hater posts and then try to calls other poster stans just for pointing out reality to you.

Unlike Bron, MJ and Steph stayed and took their lumps until they won as opposed to Bron who dipped and continue to dip when situations get sticky.

More ignorant speak. Warriors won the title in Steph's 6th season. Bulls won the title in Jordan's 7th season. They didn't say in bad situations longer than Bron, they were on TITLE teams by then.

Bron stayed in Cleveland for seven years. Can you name a single other GOAT who stayed that long in a situation that bad? The Rockets are the only one even close, and they started out far better than the Cavs plus Hakeem made his own trade demand in '92.

 

[fifth column]

Taking into consideration that thos season isn't yet complete, Durant has played 13 non-Warrior seasons. Just for context, Magic, Bird, and Russell are Top 10 GOATs and each played 13 years of pro basketball. 13 years is a full career...

Here's Durant's 13-year, non-Warrior resume:

•0-1 Finals, 1-3 WCF
•'14 MVP (+5x Top 5 finish, 3x runner-up), '12 AMVP, '08 ROY
•7x All-NBA (5x 1st Team), 10x All-Star
•4x scoring champ, '13 50-40-90

This isn't a better resume than Mailman. This is an inferior resume to Elgin. It's not definitively a stronger resume than Barkley or Iverson...

If Durant never went to GS, he wouldn't be considered Top 20. He'd more likely be in that 25-30 range of players...

That GS stint is the reason he's considered Top 15 at present, and underscores your point that in a 13-year non-GS career there's yet to be any indication he can win it all. Fair or not, when people really look back at his career they'll give more introspection to his non-GS career than they did in real time while he played...

This is just dumb, you can do this with just about any superstar. What would Bron be without the Heatles years. That’s 4 less finals and 2 less chips, 2 less MVP’s. What would Steph be without those Durant years? You can’t just take away a player’s accomplishments/accolades to fit your narrative about KD.

 

[fifth column]

Yeah, because Bron's roster in Cleveland is comparable to the '91 Bulls or the '15 Warriors.

Breh, don't make idiotic hater posts and then try to calls other poster stans just for pointing out reality to you.







More ignorant speak. Warriors won the title in Steph's 6th season. Bulls won the title in Jordan's 7th season. They didn't say in bad situations longer than Bron, they were on TITLE teams by then.

Bron stayed in Cleveland for seven years. Can you name a single other GOAT who stayed that long in a situation that bad? The Rockets are the only one even close, and they started out far better than the Cavs plus Hakeem made his own trade demand in '92.

Bron ran away from a 60+ win regular season roster so we will never know. This discussion ain’t about me breh so step deflecting it makes you come across weak

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Let me compare this again, cause @fifth column deserves to be put on blast twice for making a post that dumb.


Steph after Year 7: Matched with 26yo Klay, 26yo Draymond, 32yo Iggy, one of the best coaches in the NBA, AND is getting Durant in the coming season too. Just came 1 minute from winning his 2nd title in a row despite not even playing well in the Finals. Where the fukk would he go to get a better situation than that?

Jordan after Year 7: Matched with 26yo Pippen, 26yo Grant, 24yo Armstrong, and the best coach in the NBA. Just won the title and is a favorite the next year. Where the fukk would he go to get a better situation than that?

LeBron after Year 7: Matched with 28yo Mo, 38yo Shaq, 34yo Jamison, and his coach just got fired. Eliminated in the 2nd round despite being clearly the best player on the court, and there's no signs of improvement in the front office. EVERY superstar in his prime with his contract up is going to resign somewhere else.



Yet according to @fifth column, Steph and Jordan were "taking their lumps" while LeBron was "dipping when things got sticky".


Jordan and Steph were already on young, elite teams with great futures by their 5th season in the league. They only had to "take their lumps" for 3-4 years, half as long as Bron grinded on the Cavs. And with Steph's case is was mostly his fault as he hadn't hardly done shyt himself by then, so where was he going to go? Whereas Bron in Year 7 was the clear best player in the league but had a shyt roster with no visible hope of getting better due to a shyt front office and city no one wanted to go to.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

This is just dumb, you can do this with just about any superstar. What would Bron be without the Heatles years. That’s 4 less finals and 2 less chips, 2 less MVP’s. What would Steph be without those Durant years? You can’t just take away a player’s accomplishments/accolades to fit your narrative about KD.

Notice that you didn't do it though? Because you know that Bron's non-Heat resume and Steph's non-KD resume both shyt all over Durant's non-Warrior resume.

 

[fifth column]

Notice that you didn't do it though? Because you know that Bron's non-Heat resume and Steph's non-KD resume both shyt all over Durant's non-Warrior resume.

I’m not arguing that KD has a better anything than Bron or Steph, I’m talking about OP’s motives for targeting KD. Y’all stay on some fantasy shyt like reality don’t exist

 

[fifth column]

Let me compare this again, cause @fifth column deserves to be put on blast twice for making a post that dumb.


Steph after Year 7: Matched with 26yo Klay, 26yo Draymond, 32yo Iggy, one of the best coaches in the NBA, AND is getting Durant in the coming season too. Just came 1 minute from winning his 2nd title in a row despite not even playing well in the Finals.

Jordan after Year 7: Matched with 26yo Pippen, 26yo Grant, 24yo Armstrong, and the best coach in the NBA. Just won the title and is a favorite the next year.

LeBron after Year 7: Matched with 28yo Mo, 38yo Shaq, 34yo Jamison, and his coach just got fired. Eliminated in the 2nd round despite being clearly the best player on the court, and there's no signs of improvement in the front office.



Yet according to @fifth column, Steph and Jordan were "taking their lumps" while LeBron was "dipping when things got sticky".


Jordan and Steph were already on young, elite teams with great futures by their 5th season in the league. They only had to "take their lumps" for 3-4 years, half as long as Bron grinded on the Cavs. And with Steph's case is was mostly his fault as he hadn't hardly done shyt himself by then, so where was he going to go? Whereas Bron in Year 7 was the clear best player in the league but had a shyt roster with no visible hope of getting better due to a shyt front office and city no one wanted to go to.

Whatever happened to those puppet commercials that Nike was pushing where Bron and Kobe was supposed to meet in the finals? Kobe got there and won but I don’t remember seeing Lebron the supposed best player in the league. Like I said, your version of events vs reality

 

[KidJSoul]

Taking into consideration that thos season isn't yet complete, Durant has played 13 non-Warrior seasons. Just for context, Magic, Bird, and Russell are Top 10 GOATs and each played 13 years of pro basketball. 13 years is a full career...

Here's Durant's 13-year, non-Warrior resume:

•0-1 Finals, 1-3 WCF
•'14 MVP (+5x Top 5 finish, 3x runner-up), '12 AMVP, '08 ROY
•7x All-NBA (5x 1st Team), 10x All-Star
•4x scoring champ, '13 50-40-90

This isn't a better resume than Mailman. This is an inferior resume to Elgin. It's not definitively a stronger resume than Barkley or Iverson...

If Durant never went to GS, he wouldn't be considered Top 20. He'd more likely be in that 25-30 range of players...

That GS stint is the reason he's considered Top 15 at present, and underscores your point that in a 13-year non-GS career there's yet to be any indication he can win it all. Fair or not, when people really look back at his career they'll give more introspection to his non-GS career than they did in real time while he played...

Yeah. And even if you factor in pure skillset and winning traits over accolades like I do... he's still more similar to Dirk without the 2011 ring...

And guess what? If Dirk didn't win that ring, he'd be top 25 at best. Which is where KD naturally should be, and that also aligns with your take as well