Steve Kerr is publicly defending the Warriors’ recent superstar acquisition from the vitriol thrown his way since leaving Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant has been labeled as a villain by many fans of the NBA for not only leaving Oklahoma City, but joining a team like the Warriors that already had a historically talented lineup before adding arguably a top 5 NBA player.
Perhaps the criticisms are more attached to him specifically choosing the Warriors than leaving Oklahoma City. Had Durant gone to a team like Boston instead, it makes sense that there’d be less jealousy around the league.
Fans hold players to bizarrely arbitrary codes of conduct. A guy is supposed to embrace being “the man,” yet also value winning more than individual status on a team.
Fans lament that athletes only care about money and nothing else, yet Durant sacrificed long term earnings on the court by signing with the Warriors.
The criticisms can only be tied to the anxiety that the Warriors are simply going to be too talented to not win a championship. That’s not a valid reason to lambast Durant.
The Warriors won 73 games without Durant. It wouldn’t shock anybody if they improve on that already incredible total thanks to the acquisition of a generational talent.
Steve Kerr tells @MichelleDBeadle and I on @espnradio he is not down with Kevin Durant being labeled as a villain. https://t.co/WZbwIEgCxc
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 8, 2016
Because Durant is such a nice guy, Kerr finds the attacks on Durant’s character especially absurd.
“This is one of the most likable guys in the league. He’s just an awesome human being,” Kerr told ESPN Radio’s TMI with Michelle Beadle and Ramona Shelburne. “What he did in Oklahoma City was just amazing for that community.”
Kerr made it clear that the only thing Durant did was want to go somewhere else to play, and credited the Warriors’ chemistry with being a driving factor in that choice.
“He wanted a change of scenery, he wanted a new challenge,” said Kerr. “More than anything, he wanted to play with our guys. Seeing those guys in New York, he loved seeing the chemistry that exists and he wanted to be a part of it.”
If a fan is upset that Durant didn’t make the free agent choice that said fan would’ve made, that’s one thing. The bizarre aspect of the reaction around the league is the attacks on Durant’s character. He made a choice to sign with another team, like every free agent has the right to do. Suddenly he’s a bad person or a coward just for signing with the Warriors?
Here @ramonashelburne and @MichelleDBeadle do a great interview with Kerr https://t.co/dnQYX06NB6
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) August 8, 2016
“People are going to view him however they want,” said Kerr. “But we all know what type of person he is and what kind of impact he’s had around the league.”
The backlash Durant has received has been completely irrational. The people who suddenly hate him probably had nothing but good things to say about him as a player and person the day before he made his free agent decision.
If he had stayed in Oklahoma City, he’d have remained the consummate “nice guy” amongst fans.
The only thing different with him now as opposed to July 3rd is the team he’s a member of. Somehow choosing the Warriors was deemed a character flaw.
It just goes to show how ridiculous people are who suddenly hate Durant. Had he picked a team they would’ve wanted him to, they’d still be praising him.
A free agent decision was the sole cause of this backlash. Durant shouldn’t validate the criticism with any type of attention, because it’s beyond ridiculous.
Kerr is being a good coach by sticking up for his player, and pointing out what has become painfully obvious to anybody observing this ordeal: Durant is a likable guy, and the hatred being spewed towards him is both unwarranted as well as idiotic.