Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors has been met with a great deal of criticism, and some of it is warranted based on things the seven-time NBA All-Star has said in the past.
A lot can change in six years, but the Twitter police were quick to dig up an old tweet Durant sent in which he ripped players for taking the easy way out by joining championship contenders.
Now everybody wanna play for the heat and the Lakers? Let's go back to being competitive and going at these peoples!
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 16, 2010
Again, things change. Durant obviously felt more optimistic six years ago and believed he would win a championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now that he is entering his 10th NBA season, the priority has become winning a title at any cost.
Make no mistake about it, that tweet is now hypocritical. LeBron James embarrassed himself with the whole “The Decision” special on ESPN, but he left a Cleveland Cavaliers team that was in far worse shape than the Thunder team Durant is leaving. LeBron and Chris Bosh also teamed up with Dwyane Wade to make Miami a championship team, whereas Durant is joining a Warriors team that features the two-time reigning NBA MVP, set a record for most wins in a single season and came just one win short of winning back-to-back titles.
You can’t blame Durant for putting himself in the best position to win a championship, but this should serve as a reminder for younger players to be careful what you tweet. Everything Durant has said and done over the past nine years — with maybe the exception of this — made it seem like he would ride it out in OKC. Thunder fans won’t hesitate to throw that in K.D.’s face.
Here’s the LBS take on things:
Photo: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
