The Optics Aren't Looking Good For Kevin Durant
(In this file photo taken on January 02, 2021 Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
On Saturday, NBA fans went ballistic when they learned that LaMarcus Aldridge was joining the Nets for the rest of the season. This team now has a deep bench and a loaded starting lineup.
If you were to tell me that in 2015, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, and LaMarcus Aldridge would be on the same team, I would have laughed in your face because that team would be overpowered -- or so I thought.
It’s the same reaction you have when you learn Durant is signing with the Warriors (I like the Warriors so I was happy, but everyone else was pissed).
It’s 2021, and these players are now together on one team. Obviously, Griffin and Aldridge aren’t as good as they used to be, but they are still solid players that can be utilized in various ways. Blake Griffin seems to be really energized by the new move and was even trash talking his former team when he converted an alley oop.
If the Nets weren’t already the prohibitive favorites, they certainly are now. A lot of people are mad because everyone now thinks the Nets will steamroll every team in the league. Bronsexuals are mad because Lebron’s hopes to get a fifth championship ring are in greater jeopardy and that’s not including the high ankle sprain he endured last week.
Although the Nets now have the best chance to win it all on paper, the real question is how does this make Kevin Durant look? The man who blew a 3-1 in the 2016 Western Conference finals joined the team that beat him, and as a result was crucified by NBA fans and players.
The Warriors won two championships with Durant and they probably don’t win either without him. Durant played exceptionally well in the NBA Finals and hit clutch shot after clutch shot.
He left the Warriors because he felt he had to prove himself, which is why he went to a team that had a lot of potential in the Nets. He got what he wanted when he joined the Nets, but you have to wonder what he’s feeling right now knowing he is in a huge lose-lose scenario.
If the Nets win the championship, then everybody will say that they either expected it or will say they had a super team so the ring doesn’t count (which is what people say about the Warriors rings when they had Durant). If the Nets don’t win it all, then they will be massacred for not winning and Durant is going to get thrashed for not being able to win with a stacked team.
Durant probably doesn’t care considering he’s always trolling fans on social media, but this isn't a scenario where Durant can come out looking better than he does now. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the NBA season goes now that we have a new super team on our hands.