The news has spread like wildfire. Kevin Durant is now a member of the Golden State Warriors.
Twitter exploded like the Fourth of July on Monday, which just so happened to be THE Fourth of July, and people and NBA players alike lost their minds. Several opinions have been thrown around these past couple days; Durant is a ring chaser, Durant is a traitor, and the list goes on and on. Not every opinion was bad though. A lot of the positive feedback came from Warriors fans — duh — and analysts praised Durant for using his freedom as a free agent to go wherever he pleased.
All these opinions make for great arguments, but the bigger picture needs to be looked at, purely from a basketball standpoint. We can go on and on about what this means for …show more content…
Will the acquisition of Durant, a player who is great in isolation, keep Curry and Klay Thompson from getting their usual shots? Will Durant hog the ball so much that the Warriors offense becomes too stagnant?
When the 2016-17 season concludes, the Warriors will turn out fine. Steve Kerr and his coaching staff are qualified basketball professionals, and they know how to coach a team full of superstars. Adding another star player will obviously be a new challenge for Kerr, but putting Durant in isolation situations will be beneficial to the entire team. Curry can take a rest from ball-handling, Durant can do what he does best (attacking 1-on-1) and the rest of the team can wait for a pass from Durant when he drives or gets double-teamed. It’s a win-win for everybody. Well, except for opposing teams!
A major worry for Golden State fans is if Durant can mesh well with Steph, Klay and Dray. The Warriors have already won a championship without Durant and even came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat his OKC team in last season’s playoffs, so we know the Warriors are good. But can Durant make them even better, or will we only remember the 2016-17 Warriors as a team that quickly crumbled because of Durant’s
Twitter exploded like the Fourth of July on Monday, which just so happened to be THE Fourth of July, and people and NBA players alike lost their minds. Several opinions have been thrown around these past couple days; Durant is a ring chaser, Durant is a traitor, and the list goes on and on. Not every opinion was bad though. A lot of the positive feedback came from Warriors fans — duh — and analysts praised Durant for using his freedom as a free agent to go wherever he pleased.
All these opinions make for great arguments, but the bigger picture needs to be looked at, purely from a basketball standpoint. We can go on and on about what this means for …show more content…
Will the acquisition of Durant, a player who is great in isolation, keep Curry and Klay Thompson from getting their usual shots? Will Durant hog the ball so much that the Warriors offense becomes too stagnant?
When the 2016-17 season concludes, the Warriors will turn out fine. Steve Kerr and his coaching staff are qualified basketball professionals, and they know how to coach a team full of superstars. Adding another star player will obviously be a new challenge for Kerr, but putting Durant in isolation situations will be beneficial to the entire team. Curry can take a rest from ball-handling, Durant can do what he does best (attacking 1-on-1) and the rest of the team can wait for a pass from Durant when he drives or gets double-teamed. It’s a win-win for everybody. Well, except for opposing teams!
A major worry for Golden State fans is if Durant can mesh well with Steph, Klay and Dray. The Warriors have already won a championship without Durant and even came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat his OKC team in last season’s playoffs, so we know the Warriors are good. But can Durant make them even better, or will we only remember the 2016-17 Warriors as a team that quickly crumbled because of Durant’s