NBA The KD Files

KD is one of those superstars who got their legacy severely inflated by managing their careers and public perception well.

He can score at any way possible, he can defend if he wanted to, he can certainly handle and pass the ball, but he cannot take over games and will his team to titles like the greats can do it, even factoring in supporting casts. He's an alpha talent trapped in a beta mindset.

His performance in the 16 series vs. the Warriors was an embarrassment. Up 3-1 he managed to choke the next two games away, shooting 10-31 (1-8 from 3), then 10-19 (3-7 from 3) int he next game. Game 7 he was hesitant in his shots, and then proceeded to let Westbrook take the blame for the loss (though warranted) without stepping up and be the leader in the situation. Worse yet, he jumped shipped to GSW.

People will point to the 2 finals mvp as if those meant anything. He joined a 73-9 team that is already better than almost every team in the league. Any high level player joining that GSW would have made it a juggernaut. In both finals series, he was mostly single teamed because the Cavs were petrified of Curry who drew almost the entire defensive attention. Despite that, Curry only scored 8.4 pts less per game (but 4 more assists), with almost hte same number of rebounds despite being half a foot shorter in the first finals, and pretty much matched his stats the following finals in 4 largely noncompetitive snoozers. I can see Durant being the MVP in either series, but the reality is that Curry was the offence, and Durant was just benefiting off of it.

So off to Nets he went, and ironically, that is the place where he showed some promise as an alpha, but unfortunately didn't play much due to injuries. Burned his bridges on his way out, went to Phoenix, repeat the same crap, and is now in Houston, where is his openly mocking Sengun in games (again, warranted) without taking on a leader role. He continuously throws hissy fits and refuses to take accountability for this decisions.

Him and Harden are one and the same in terms of mindset, blaming everyone and everything around them. The difference is Harden is a ballhog, plays even less defence, and chases money and women, while at least Durant wants to win someone. If it wasn't for Curry, Durant will be remembered as another T-Mac or Nique.
 
1 and 2 might be good enough to ring a few times. We have a super raw rookie power forward and inconsistent shooting and we are still one of the 5 best teams in the nba. Get a modern 4 who can play up to 20 minutes of not terrible basketball and get pretty much anybody who can shoot it around 40% on wide open 3's and we are going to mow through the league. Of our 3 core players one is already mvp caliber one is all star caliber and the only reason why the 3rd one isn't at least all star caliber is because he comes off the bench. All 3 still have years to get better as well.

The only thing I really worry about as far as the offseason goes is the spurs bringing barnes back in any capacity and they just flat out decide to never get a non terrible 3rd center so we are always one Victor / Kornet injury away from Bryant playing small ball 5 and now we back to not having a real power forward...which is what would feed into them bringing barnes back.
Barnes on the minimum would be a great roster filling move, tbh.
 
Barnes on the minimum would be a great roster filling move, tbh.
Disagree. I think Barnes is cooked physically. In preseason he looked awful, then during the season he looked alot better, and now he back to looking awful to the point we are starting to play a very raw rookie who wasn't even a starter in college over him.

Exactly how Kelly and Bismack look this year...i am convinced that is how Barnes will look next year. Pass.
 
Disagree. I think Barnes is cooked physically. In preseason he looked awful, then during the season he looked alot better, and now he back to looking awful to the point we are starting to play a very raw rookie who wasn't even a starter in college over him.

Exactly how Kelly and Bismack look this year...i am convinced that is how Barnes will look next year. Pass.
You're not being very fair to Bryant, who absolutely earned the minutes he's been getting since he shook off the fear of dunking - who cares what he played in college? He's an NBA rookie, and far from the first one to earn himself a bigger role in the latter half of their rookie season.

As much as Barnes may be "cooked" physically (which is arguable, and also hard to accurately judge as long as he's playing mainly against first units, the opposite of Harper), he's a great vet and locker room presence, has learned "the system" and fits the team/culture, and he can get hot from 3 - which we sorely need, and will continue to need next season.

We could do much worse than upgrading Bryant to the starting PF role (if and when he proves he belongs during the playoffs) and moving HB to the bench. I'd still want a third PF, ideally a shooter with size who could play small-ball 5 where Carter can't, but that's obviously a big request.
 
You're not being very fair to Bryant, who absolutely earned the minutes he's been getting since he shook off the fear of dunking - who cares what he played in college? He's an NBA rookie, and far from the first one to earn himself a bigger role in the latter half of their rookie season.

As much as Barnes may be "cooked" physically (which is arguable, and also hard to accurately judge as long as he's playing mainly against first units, the opposite of Harper), he's a great vet and locker room presence, has learned "the system" and fits the team/culture, and he can get hot from 3 - which we sorely need, and will continue to need next season.

We could do much worse than upgrading Bryant to the starting PF role (if and when he proves he belongs during the playoffs) and moving HB to the bench. I'd still want a third PF, ideally a shooter with size who could play small-ball 5 where Carter can't, but that's obviously a big request.
We had that in Mamu :cry:
 
We had that in Mamu :cry:
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What was the deal with Mamu? Did he get pay out of our reach, or did we just let him go for nothing? He would be an ideal 10th, 11th man, tbh.
 
What was the deal with Mamu? Did he get pay out of our reach, or did we just let him go for nothing? We would be an ideal 10th, 11th man, tbh.
Mamu is on a bargain 2/$5.5, but my guess is that maybe he wanted to go somewhere with more opportunity than we could provide him here?
 
Mamu is on a bargain 2/$5.5, but my guess is that maybe he wanted to go somewhere with more opportunity than we could provide him here?
Damn, I would have offered the same money per year for more seasons. Securing decent rotation players for as little money as possible is a must in today's NBA.
 
That's just stupid. They know he's sensitive. Why joke around with that shit.
 
lol at first I thought it was AI generated :st-lol:

KD that sensitive guy definitely take it to heart
 
lol at first I thought it was AI generated :st-lol:

KD that sensitive guy definitely take it to heart
I didn't even think about it being AI generated. I just assumed it was legit and they were joking around. If it's actually real, very well could have led to his decision to leave.
 
Tbh KD is for sure a hall of fame player. But player comparison/ranking wise, I am sure the Media and the Former "OG" players will not consider his "2 titles" as any values to argue his place/ranking above another player.

His weak ass cupcake decision to join a historic 73 wins GSW really look bad on him, especially after:
- GSW still able to win a title (2022) (as per Draymond's prediction :st-lol:) without KD.
- His repeated trade demand requests when things go south. A player his Caliber should not play on 5 different teams tbh (OKC, GSW, Nets, Phoenix, Houston).

Add in other media narrative (e.g. Chuck calling him bus rider :st-lol:) and his burner accounts saga, KD's legacy and accomplishments are kinda underachieving IMO.


Side note, LeBum was on similar path with KD as he also won 2 titles with a "super team" and a "bubble-ish championship (per Skip Bayless :st-lol:)" during the covid year. But LeBum's return to Cavs and that 2016 title coming back from down 3-1 to win against the historic 73 wins team....that title alone hold much more weight than simply a title. This is something I definitely give credit to LeBum for.

Dirk's 2011 title which he won as a "bus driver" also definitely outweighed KD's 2 titles and 2 FMVP as a bus rider.
 
How have I never seen this, crazy video and I am still not convinced its not AI lol. KD is the most thin skinned dude on the planet and they're just laughing about him blatantly d-riding to a couple titles.

Didn't the Warriors owner infamously say their organization was "light-years ahead" of the rest of the NBA, too? Lots of feet in mouth moments from them.
 
Disagree. I think Barnes is cooked physically. In preseason he looked awful, then during the season he looked alot better, and now he back to looking awful to the point we are starting to play a very raw rookie who wasn't even a starter in college over him.

Exactly how Kelly and Bismack look this year...i am convinced that is how Barnes will look next year. Pass.
Bryant has played very well lately, don't use his college career against him now. He's past that.
 
Bryant has played very well lately, don't use his college career against him now. He's past that.
I'm not using it against him. I'm saying if you a veteran player and a rookie who wasn't even a starter in college starts eating into your playing time, you probably don't need to go back to that team next season. That team might not even want you back next season.
 
I'm not using it against him. I'm saying if you a veteran player and a rookie who wasn't even a starter in college starts eating into your playing time, you probably don't need to go back to that team next season. That team might not even want you back next season.
It all depends on the money.
 
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