The NBA world has finally seemed to settle down after Kevin Durant made the decision to join the super team Golden State Warriors after leaving Oklahoma City Thunder. It has for sure drawn more hate than it has praise. No one has given him more hate than Stephen A. Smith, an ESPN analyst. I usually never side with Smith on issues, but on this one I will. I would bet anything that KD's decision will go down as one of the most pathetic ones in the history of the NBA.
When I used to think of KD, I thought superstar, franchise player, but now I think of a man who lacks work ethic. In fact, I think of a pathetic individual, a coward if you will. The Thunder team played incredibly and gave Golden State a run for their money. Players from the Warriors have often mentioned how hard it was to play the Thunder team. Durant and Westbrook were the pride of that team, and they were so close to reaching the NBA finals. They would've had great odds to make the finals next year.
There is absolutely no excuse for him taking the easy way out. It was a cowardly move by a man who is often looked up to as one of the good guys in basketball. I do not think any sports fan will ever forget his incredible emotional MVP speech, where he gave all the credit to his mother for his success that season. Oklahoma City would be perfectly capable of winning, if he would resign from the team he currently belongs to. Instead, he wanted it to be like a walk in the park and agreed to a deal with an already stacked team.
I personally feel awful for Oklahoma City. They thought they had a franchise player who would lead them to a championship. It turns out that wasn't the case. It turns out he is everything that I hate about the NBA. He and Russ were the superstars of Oklahoma. Think about it, there is no NHL, MLB, or NFL team in Oklahoma. All the fans have is their beloved basketball team and their college football teams.
I was fortunate of growing up a Laker fan my entire life. We had the luck to watch Kobe Bryant for 20 years all with LA. Maybe the NBA is just not like that anymore. It seems the whole topic of loyalty has gone missing. You know it's a problem when your loyalty to yourself is stronger than your loyalty for your teammates.
But what the Thunder do have now is Russell Westbrook, who just signed a three year extension to ensure he is not going anywhere this season. It looks like Oklahoma City still has one hero left to believe in.