Month: July 2016

A very tough Fourth of July in the state of Oklahoma. The face of the city has left to play on an All-Star team based in Oakland. But let’s be big boys here, this is our culture and the world we live in regarding professional sports in America. This was not about money with Durant from my view. To me, it was more about he and his handlers calibrating his best chance to win some NBA championships and I’m sure Jerry West was brilliant using his career as a Laker to connect with Kevin Durant concerning this. I like Jerry West so you’re never going to hear me trash him.

None of us really have the right to judge Kevin Durant because in a better, more fair world the team which plays in Oklahoma City probably never should have been removed from Seattle. Oklahoma City has proven itself a great NBA city and will now need to rise to the occasion. But trust me when I write this–this is what makes Oklahomans special as people. Their inner toughness to overcome adversity. Oklahoma is a tough ass place to live and the people who live here reflect that very mental toughness. Plus, there is an inherit fairness in the people which will translate into most of us realizing how fortunate we were to have Kevin Durant here for the time he was. The people are what make Oklahoma special and this comes from a guy born in the glamour city of San Diego.

Having written that I still think what he just did is one of the weakest ass things I’ve seen in sport in my fifty-eight years, but it’s not my life and it wasn’t my decision. It’s Kevin Durant’s life and the best of luck to him as he finds himself as a young man taking on the journey of life. I hope people on both sides of this don’t end up embarrassing themselves on social media.

So—what should Sam Presti do now? I think the first thing might need to do is have a talk with Russell Westbrook and politely ask what his chances are of staying on in OKC beyond this season?

If Westbrook answers that he’s probably gone at the conclusion of this season then Presti cannot do what he just with Durant and allow the Thunder to not get any players and draft picks in return. This cannot happen again.

Cap space doesn’t mean that much in OKC because star players are not coming here thru free agency. The team has to be rebuilt through the draft and shrewd deals like we just saw with the Oladipo-Sabonis trade with two players still on rookie scale contracts who can be retained in restricted free agency.

I’m still excited about watching Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Victor Oladipo, Cam Payne, Domantus Sabonis and possibly Dion Waiters evolve as players. If Westbrook leaves they are now the core of the Thunder. Think back to that last regular season game at San Antonio and that will be our Thunder… and who knows maybe Westbrook might stay, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it.

This might sound crazy, but I actually loved that first year the Thunder were here going 23-59 as we watched Durant, Green, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka adjust to the NBA game. So I’ll be okay. But Russell Westbrook needs to let Sam Presti know what he’s going to do. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable request at all.

Moving forward.

I played this earlier in the season as well and think it might be good to play it again for some perspective. I’ll be completely honest–I think what Kevin Durant did today was one of the weakest things I’ve ever seen by a generational player in his prime in any of the four major league sports. Kevin Durant was 12 minutes away from eliminating the team he joined today. Twelve minutes.

The team he’s leaving was loaded and generally going to be one of the top three teams picked by Vegas to win the crown in 2016-17. Steven Adams was emerging as a unique star and the addition of Victor Oladipo would have solved the two guard problem.

I will never hate Kevin Durant for leaving OKC, but by the same token I’ll never view him the same. It’s not that he’s leaving Oklahoma City which bothers me, it’s more to the point he’s going to the team which he should have just eliminated in Game 6 in Oklahoma City.

I can’t recall off the top of my head anything like this before from a generational player in his prime in any of the major four sports.

I know sports journalists covering the Thunder in OKC aren’t allowed to ever ask tough questions, but at some point when did Kevin Durant decide he could only grow as a player and a man playing for the Golden Warriors. Was it before, during, or after the meltdown in Game 6?

I think it’s a fair question, but I don’t think we have a writer in OKC who will ever ask it.

I truly hate the way this went down today. He could have gone to any team in the league other than the Cavs or Warriors and he would have had me as a fan for life.

Now—he’s just another pro athlete who’s pretty much like so many other bores playing pro sports.

How sad.

 

 

I played this earlier in the season, but I’m going to play it again because I believe the Jerry West phone call to Kevin Durant played a part in the decision. If ever there was a player who understands championship legacy it’s West who was only able to beat the Celtics the one time for an NBA ring. I would absolutely love to read the transcript of that conversation. Maybe Jeter can pull this off and put something on his forum with genuine insight and candor. Please watch this you’ll enjoy. BTW…I love Jerry West and read his book. Interesting dude. So competitive from within. Kevin will learn something from Jerry West and probably within a week or two I won’t be snarky towards Kevin. But I feel entitled to the week or two. Fair enough? This will haunt me because I love Oladipo as a player.

 

Let’s do this–this way. Let’s pretend I’m Mike and I live in Montana and don’t have an NBA team playing twenty minutes from my front door. I’m just Mike from Montana who for some strange reason follows the Philly Sixers as my favorite team and kind of adopted the Thunder when they moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle.

So– in essence, the Thunder are my adopted Western Conference team and the Sixers are my adopted Eastern Conference team.

The reason what happened today might make a difference to me as an avid NBA fan in Montana is that what the Warriors just pulled off is akin to an entity creating a private monopoly where in essence there’s really no reason to be watching the regular season and maybe not even the first two rounds of the Western Conference or Eastern Conference Playoffs or even the Conference Finals.

I don’t think I’m going over the top here. Consider this–if you took the eight best players from the remaining teams in the Western Conference do you think you could beat these guys.

Okay. My eight would be Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams, Blake Griffin, Deandre Jordan, maybe DeMarcus Cousins if Popovich can control him, Marc Gasol, and the two guards from Portland or Harden. That would be my eight with Popovich coaching them. I want flexible bigs who can punish the Warriors inside, plus a big in Gasol who can pass from the top of the key, plus a point guard who can get to the rim. I went to ten, but that’s okay.

That being said—do I have enough? Can these ten beat the Warriors with no considerations whatsoever to a salary cap with the tax included?

I don’t think so and I’d wager Vegas wouldn’t either because what the Warriors have just done is combine three of the best shooters the game has ever seen.

I know, I know—defense wins championships, and even though the Warriors just traded Bogut to the Dallas Mavs they still have Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala and the potential for the most creative small ball lineups ever seen by humans in Montana. Plus, Thompson and Durant aren’t horrible defensively.

What I’m saying is if you combine an All-Star team from the rest of the entire NBA minus LeBron–I don’t think these guys are beatable.

I read Durant’s statement on some nonsensical forum called the Player’s Tribune which Derek Jeter has an interest in. Whatever.

My jaw dropped when I read the part where Durant cited the desire for more growth as a man as being part of the decision.

Oh, really.

Is Draymond going to teach you to kick, sucker punch, and rub other grown men in their genitals? Color me jaded if I roll my eyes on that one. I never really considered that as part of inner spirituality.

What was done here was simple. Two teams now have a chance to win the NBA championship as currently constructed.

Golden State and Cleveland.

Kevin Durant now has a more plausible path to an NBA championship because both Green and Iguodala can both somewhat defend LeBron James and Kevin Durant doesn’t have the body type to handle James defensively.

Will I hate Durant and burn my Durant T shirts? Of course not.

I would have to ask Durant this question though, if you hadn’t played so poorly in Game 6 would your decision have been the same today? I think that’s a very fair question.

I will admit when the NBA Finals roll around it’s not like I’m going to care who wins between the Cavs and Warriors.

If I were in Montana I’d be casting a fly on some tranquil stream in search of a trout or walking with the diva lab Pauli or maybe reading the most current edition of Helena Monthly.

I’ll watch, but in the end I won’t care who wins and that’s kind of sad even for the totally objective Mike from Montana who like so many Oklahomans had their hearts broken today.

 

 

It’s been leaked Kevin Durant will announce his decision sometime later today whether he remains with the Thunder or joins the All-Star Warriors and thus gives the NBA a defacto Cleveland vs. Golden State finals once again next June and possibly beyond.

Consider this–if Durant hooks up with the Warriors there’s basically only two teams in the league who can win the title…the Cavs and Warriors. There were four when this past season began with Cleveland, Golden State, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio.

Creating a dynasty is one thing, but eliminating pretty much all competitive drama is something else. Why even bother to watch until June? Think about how boring the Eastern Conference Playoffs are every year with LeBron’s predictable ascension to the Finals. This hasn’t been the case in the West where the Spurs, the Thunder, and the Warriors have slugged it out with some great basketball which has carried fan interest.

This won’t be the case if Durant takes the easy route to winning a championship by hooking up with Curry, Thompson, the crotch magnet, and Iguodala. This will basically be like watching two super nova travel little league teams with some daddies with deep pockets pretty much buying a sure thing.

Building a dynasty in today’s financial conditions isn’t easy in the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB. Fans generally enjoy some competitive parity. The Chicago Blackhawks are somewhat a mini dynasty in the NHL, but they didn’t advance to the Stanley Cup Finals this season. The San Francisco Giants are another mini dynasty in major league baseball winning three championships in the last five seasons. LeBron’s Heat team did win two titles in a row before losing to the Spurs in 2014. But even in listing these three examples of mini dynasties–there’s always been great competitive drama and excitement in watching because it wasn’t just the same two teams playing for the title every season.

If you think I’m going over the top here please tell which of the other 28 NBA teams has a legitimate shot next season if Durant hooks up with the Splash Brothers, Iggy, and the crotch magnet. Who would Jerry West covet later on…maybe Kawhi Leonard?

This goes beyond me as a Thunder fan not wanting to lose Kevin Durant. It goes to the heart of the NBA as a league having any competitive legitimacy if Durant joins the Warriors to create this super team.

I’d never hate Kevin Durant for leaving for the Warriors because he’s been such a class guy and I love the things he said to his mother in that MVP speech, but I’ll admit it would diminish the way I view his legacy for this simple reason. Sam Presti has put enough around Durant for him to win a championship, and let’s be totally candid in closing–when OKC had the Warriors down 3-1 all Durant and Westbrook have to do is close out Game 6 at home and this conversation isn’t even taking place.

Call me old school, call me whatever you might, but the thought of Durant joining the super Warriors to create an easier path to a championship would be pretty weak from my perspective.

Dirk didn’t leave the Mavs after losing in the 2006 Finals to Dwayne Wade and the LeBronless Heat. Instead–he came back and carried the Mavs to their only world championship in 2011 by beating the LeBron anchored Heat.

To me, this is what sports should be all about. Redemption, hanging in there, overcoming your inner mental demons, and becoming the best because you are the best instead of some little league daddy just buying you a trophy to pad his ego.

Note to Kevin Durant–Dustin Johnson won at Firestone yesterday for his second win in two weeks. And you know what, never once did we see Steph, Klay, or the crotch magnet putting for him.

I’m fairly certain Jerry West never said anything close to this in his Saturday call to Kevin Durant.

If Durant left to join the Celtics you wouldn’t hear a peep from me. He’d be going to a young team where he would the cornerstone of the franchise. I could admire that. It would still hurt–but I could admire it from a competitive standpoint.

Hopefully, Kevin Durant has some old school in him.

 

This is the story being reported from the LA Lakers. The signing of Tim Mozgov who was basically relegated to the bench with the Cavs and played but 25 minutes in the Finals while Tristan Thompson did the heavy lifting.

Many of the talking heads in the NBA think Durant and Westbrook could possibly move to the Lakers after next season. My subtle suggestion to both Kevin and Russ would be this….these aren’t the Lakers of Wilt, West, Kareem, Magic, Kobe, or Dr. Buss. These are the Lakers of Dr. Jerry Buss’s children who have basically turned the franchise into a joke.

I don’t care how good of a player you are if you don’t have an owner, a general manager, and a head coach who can work in tandem making sound basketball decisions you’re not going to consistently contend in today’s NBA.

So…Pat Riley keeps Hassan Whiteside in Miami while the Buss children decide to pay Tim Mozgov $65 million over the next four years.

Sam Presti steals Victor Oladipo and Domantus Sabonis while the Lakers do this in preparation for their pitch to Durant and Westbrook next summer. Good luck with this kind of decision making.

Maybe Mitch K and the Buss children got confused and  thought they just signed Tristan Thompson to a four year deal is all I can figure.

This really isn’t all that consuming to me. I think he’ll sign a two year deal and stay. He’d be crazy to leave. Sam Presti has a team coming in next year which should be even better than the one which would have made the Finals this season if Durant and Westbrook hadn’t choked in Game 6. Presti and Clay Bennett have done their jobs, and quite frankly I think Durant would look a little weak if he joins the Warriors with what Presti has put together in Oklahoma City.

I will lose no sleep over this. I don’t live vicariously through athletes. Don’t follow them on Twitter…and the reason is simple—I have a life.

Come back, KD. Win a title and then leave if you have to, but winning a title with Steph, Klay, and the official NBA male crotch magnet would do nothing to enchance your legacy as an iconic generational player. Dirk is who you wanna be like.

That’s all I’m writing on Durant’s free agency until his official announcement.