Kevin Barkley vs Charles Durant thread formerly AtL

SilenceS

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LBJ's situation and KD's situation are different imo.

LBJ left a pretty bad Cavs team. A lot of people were expecting him to leave, what rubbed them the wrong way was how he went about announcing it. It made sense that he wanted to leave. Look at how the Cavs completely collapsed without him.

KD is leaving a pretty good OKC team. He's leaving another superstar player, which LBJ didn't have in CLE. Like Scoot mentioned, after that trade they made on draft night, they looked like they were going to be good enough to beat the Warriors next season. RW and Oladipo would have made a really good backcourt tandem, and they're both sound defensively. They already have two good bigs in Adams and Kanter, and the rookie they just got looks very promising. If KD stayed, I truly believe OKC would have won a title within the next two years. CLE was not going to win anything if LBJ stayed.

Unless he really hated playing with RW, or if he just wanted an easy path to the finals, this didn't make sense to me.

Maybe he wants to be part of history
 

Scoot26

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Maybe he wants to be part of history
What history? Winning a championship with another Superstar and 2 other stars?

I highly doubt they break their own record, after being thoroughly embarrassed by losing a 3-1 lead in the Finals, they're not going to bother with the regular season bullshit. They'll likely save the going ham for the playoffs.
 

BaBaBlacksheep

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Oklahoma vs California. :thinking:

Not that hard a choice IMO.
 

SilenceS

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What history? Winning a championship with another Superstar and 2 other stars?

I highly doubt they break their own record, after being thoroughly embarrassed by losing a 3-1 lead in the Finals, they're not going to bother with the regular season bullshit. They'll likely save the going ham for the playoffs.

This team could go down as the greatest team ever
 

Shawon0Meter

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No, he is still not a likable person. Durant is a humble individual. This is going to be the most unselfish team.
I see what you're saying there

but for the people who disliked LeBron for taking the easy way to a ring, what KD is doing is 10x worse.

Those are the people I expect to make KD the new bad guy. We'll see though.
 

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Maybe Bulls can trade Jimmy to OKC. They are in need of a starting SF. This could help the Bulls start rebuilding.
 

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KD and the Warriors are the new villains of the NBA. No ifs ands or buts about it.
 

remydat

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LBJ's situation and KD's situation are different imo.

LBJ left a pretty bad Cavs team. A lot of people were expecting him to leave, what rubbed them the wrong way was how he went about announcing it. It made sense that he wanted to leave. Look at how the Cavs completely collapsed without him.

KD is leaving a pretty good OKC team. He's leaving another superstar player, which LBJ didn't have in CLE. Like Scoot mentioned, after that trade they made on draft night, they looked like they were going to be good enough to beat the Warriors next season. RW and Oladipo would have made a really good backcourt tandem, and they're both sound defensively. They already have two good bigs in Adams and Kanter, and the rookie they just got looks very promising. If KD stayed, I truly believe OKC would have won a title within the next two years. CLE was not going to win anything if LBJ stayed.

Unless he really hated playing with RW, or if he just wanted an easy path to the finals, this didn't make sense to me.

OKC looked to be better on paper. GS just won 73 games. If your only objective is winning then the choice is easy.
 

clonetrooper264

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OKC looked to be better on paper. GS just won 73 games. If your only objective is winning then the choice is easy.
Don't you know? Players are not allowed to do what they think is best for themselves. They must have undying loyalty to their current team at the expense of everything else in their lives...because you know, they get paid a lot.
 

Scoot26

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This team could go down as the greatest team ever
To be the greatest, you'd need the numbers. They'd need to win 70 games and probably sweep the playoffs. On paper, they absolutely can do that. I think they'll need some time to gel which generally results in losses. They're also public enemy #1 to the league.

They also aren't the first team ever to have 2 Superstars and 2 All-Stars.

The 1983 Sixers say hello.
 

clonetrooper264

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To be the greatest, you'd need the numbers. They'd need to win 70 games and probably sweep the playoffs. On paper, they absolutely can do that. I think they'll need some time to gel which generally results in losses. They're also public enemy #1 to the league.

They also aren't the first team ever to have 2 Superstars and 2 All-Stars.

The 1983 Sixers say hello.
They aren't the first, but they are the first to get them all in their primes
 

SilenceS

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Don't you know? Players are not allowed to do what they think is best for themselves. They must have undying loyalty to their current team at the expense of everything else in their lives...because you know, they get paid a lot.

Man, this dude spent 9 years and went through a team being moved and a small market. What he has done in that community and that city is great. It sucks for them that he left, but they should respect the shit out of him. Very few superstars stay that loyal.
 

Scoot26

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They aren't the first, but they are the first to get them all in their primes
Erving was definitely aging by that point at 32 years old, as GSW doesn't have that problem. So you're right there. Moses was definitely in his prime, and Toney was a new and upcoming star (who 2 seasons later would have his career robbed by injuries). Cheeks was inconsistent, and a sparodic star at that. Basically would line up with Draymond at this point (who only has one appearance). That team also had Bobby Jones, 6th man of the year, and a former All-Star.

They are mostly remembered for Moses Malone's "fo fo fo" line. They lost 1 game in the playoffs, went 12-1, and swept the Lakers in the Finals. Regular season record of 65-17 has been done many times, and their playoff run was great and it gets them in the conversation, but no one is saying they are the greatest ever.

However yes this team potentially has a great chance to be the best ever. But I do think GSW will care less about the regular season this year, thus they probably won't go for the record. And who's to say what they do in the playoffs.
 

clonetrooper264

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Man, this dude spent 9 years and went through a team being moved and a small market. What he has done in that community and that city is great. It sucks for them that he left, but they should respect the shit out of him. Very few superstars stay that loyal.
lol tell that to all the butthurt OKC fans
 

SilenceS

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To be the greatest, you'd need the numbers. They'd need to win 70 games and probably sweep the playoffs. On paper, they absolutely can do that. I think they'll need some time to gel which generally results in losses. They're also public enemy #1 to the league.

They also aren't the first team ever to have 2 Superstars and 2 All-Stars.

The 1983 Sixers say hello.

Yea, 28 years old or younger and Durant and Curry could go down as top 10 players ever. Curry is already the greatest shooter ever.
 

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man if we kept rose he could have recruited durrant to us
 

remydat

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They aren't the first, but they are the first to get them all in their primes

Didn't some of those Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain team have like 3 or 4 all-stars?. Then there were the Lakers and Celtics of the way 80s. Can't remember if they had 4 guys but certainly great teams with multiple hall of famers.
 

Scoot26

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Didn't some of those Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain team have like 3 or 4 all-stars?. Then there were the Lakers and Celtics of the way 80s. Can't remember if they had 4 guys but certainly great teams with multiple hall of famers.
The 86 Celtics had Bird, McHale, Parish, and DJ who all ended up in the hall-of-fame. DJ's best days were in Seattle though.

The Lakers had an aging Kareem (who was still good don't get me wrong), and Magic then Worthy... the rest of the players were never really considered star worthy.

The 60's teams always had more stars because the league was a lot smaller then. Talent accumulated.
 

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