Asking a basketball player their opinion on the Kevin Durant saga this offseason is starting to reach rarified air as a go-to conversation starter.
Like college freshmen at a dorm party asking “What’s your major?” to break the ice, any player with ties to the NBA is being asked to weigh in on the matter.
Guys like Charles Barkley, Tracy McGrady, Reggie Miller, and Jae Crowder have ripped Durant for going to the Warriors.
Crowder might be a bit biased, because he was trying to recruit Durant to the Celtics, but those other guys are retired legends with no skin in the game.
Russell Westbrook also wasn’t very receptive, but that was to be expected. Although his accusations of Durant not being forthcoming with him about the decision are definitely troubling, had Durant been similarly guarded through the process yet ended up returning to Oklahoma City, something tells me there wouldn’t have been an issue.
.@kobebryant on KD's decision to join Golden State pic.twitter.com/Yu9lKdJCDy
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 25, 2016
Current stars like LeBron James and DeAndre Jordan have defended Durant, and now a freshly retired legend is being added to the column of official Durant supporters.
Kobe Bryant told the Jim Rome Show that not only was he happy for Durant, but that this was an opportunity for opposing stars to fight through adversity and figure out how to defeat the Warriors.
“So as a competitor you have to look at that and say ok, how can I figure out, I have to figure out how to take apart that team, and so now the challenge becomes how to find cracks within their system within their personnel, how can I take them down,” said Bryant.
Say what you will about Bryant, but nobody can deny his unrivaled competitiveness and drive to be the best.
While other players around the league have lamented that Durant is a coward or somehow taking the easy way out, Bryant instead would choose to view the situation as a new challenge to have to overcome.
James seemed to imply this sentiment when he defended Durant’s decision, but didn’t say it as directly as Bryant did.
It’s a refreshing perspective, because at the end of the day, Durant has made his decision. No amount of complaining can remove him from that Warriors’ roster.
Any player committed to being the best and winning NBA championships simply has to lock in and face the challenge that the Warriors present and embrace those trials.
Bryant definitely has the right mindset, and it’s a big reason why he won 5 championships during his storied career.