Naysayers of the NBA and the Golden State Warriors are quick to put blame on Kevin Durant for taking his talents to the Bay Area that “ruined the NBA.”
You can now add Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett to the list that of those that think Durant took the easy way out by forming one of the best super teams in the history of basketball.
In an interview on the ‘The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima” on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, Garret gave a pretty blunt take on the Durant making the jump from the OKC Thunder to the Warriors.
Perhaps this is just sour grapes from the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, as he just witnessed Durant and company swept the Cavs for their second straight NBA Championship after leaving the Thunder, with Durant picking up his second playoff MVP in as many seasons.
Here’s the full quote:
"You hopped onto a 73-9 team and he took the easy way out in my mind," Garrett said. "It's different when LeBron left. He went to [Miami to join] Wade and Bosh but it wasn't something that was already guaranteed, something you already knew was going to have immediate success. [James] had to gel and work things into place.
"With KD, you just stick him in and he scores. You already knew what they had. They were 73-9 before and you put the second-best player in the world on an already all-time great team and of course you're going to have success, pretty easy success. Anyone can have an off night and they can still find a way to win."
"If I were him I would've never made a move like that in the first place,'' he said. "Me, I'm too competitive to try and ride on somebody's coat tails to get a W. But for him, you might as well stay at the spot you're at now. There's no point in leaving since you've already taken that moniker where he's been called the snake and cupcake and all that. You might as well stay and just keep on winning."
It’s hard to disagree with the second part of what Garrett. The Warriors can have several members of their team underperform on any given night, and are usually a good bet to still come out on top.
The LeBron angle is a bit more interesting, as it took some time for Wade, Bosh and James to come together, essentially saying that the Heat wouldn’t find that instant chemistry and weren’t guaranteed to be winners like the Warriors were.
What do you think of Garrett’s rant. Is he on to something here? Can you really fault a player for going to the team of his choice, or should Durant have chosen somewhere else to balance out the power structure in the NBA?
Let us know in our Facebook comments.
You can listen to the full clip below:
