How Kevin Durant has SABOTAGED his NBA career | Hoops Tonight x Nerd Sesh
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So you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball obviously the first takes and all the other uh takey shows out there have been talking heavily about this idea of Kevin Durant and him needing to go somewhere
Else or whether or not he made his own bed and all these other things and my question for you guys is and we’ll start with you Carson what is your take on Kevin Durant posten state in terms of just what he’s prioritized as a basketball player in
The types of situations that he’s put himself in well I don’t think that he’s done a very good job of selecting situations and of emphasizing the sort of big-time talents who he wants to join forces with and I think the biggest reason for that is that he has not yet
Joined a team that is going to be an above average defense which is just a mandatory requirement if you want to contend the 2021 Nets were 23rd in defensive rating the next year they were 19th then they were 13th when he got traded they were an okay defense as
Claxon to come into his own and whatnot and then this year the suns are 18th in defensive rating and the reason for that to me is that he has prioritized playing with these highly skilled but small and also by the way extremely injury-prone guards like we saw two and a half years
Of him and Kyrie they played 74 games together now we’ve seen him play five games with Bradley Beal you can’t really say that you would be surprised by either one of those totals given those guys track records and he’s basically put together these big threes where you
Have no plus Defenders and you have these very skilled perimeter shot makers right like Kyrie is a basketball artist Devon Booker has this incredible allaround skill I mean the post game as a guard right the mid-range all these things that as a basketball purist I think KD personally really values
Because like that’s the kind of basketball that he plays he plays beautiful basketball as a pure scorer but then you have these gaping deficiencies where there’s no consistent Rim pressure out of those guys you are going to be basically guaranteed to be a poor defense because of who you’ve
Prioritized and then there’s just some skill set redundancies there so he’s basically left these rosters with almost no room for real plus two-way role players like Phoenix doesn’t have any where I would say like that guy’s legitimately good on both sides of the ball he’s just going to play his role at
A really high level Brooklyn they had Bruce Brown ultimately they let go they had Nick Claxton who again had grown into a really high level Defender and then ktie left that situation so it just feels to me like he is sort of prioritizing hoopers just like guys
Whose games he admires and not thinking about okay how is this actually going to lead to championship basketball and that’s repeatedly cost him I mean Carson hit it on the head it’s like if you were playing a pickup game and uh say you know new set you’ve
Never seen any of these guys before you’re it’s like a a one game scenario where you’re going to run full-court fives with some guys in a pickup setting and you see these guys making all these tough moves and these tough buckets and they’re crafty and they’re nasty they’re
Hoopers those are the guys you’re going to pick because you’re like oh it’s a it’s a game of fives we’re just getting buckets NBA basketball is different and I think to hand your keys over to a player and to let him construct your entire roster and obviously he’s not
Doing that top to bottom your GM and your guys are finding the role players but you’re letting him allocate the majority of the cap and all of the money that you would be able to put really good two-way role players behind him and you’re giving it to like you said Carson
Guys with skill set redundancies nobody’s gonna you know nobody’s gonna doubt that the Brooklyn Nets weren’t tough yeah they had three of the toughest buckets ever nobody’s going to doubt that the Suns aren’t tough they’ve got three of the toughest buckets ever but winning an NBA title and winning a
Pickup game or two very different things and you need an entire roster to go and do that and I don’t know I just don’t think that players are the best general managers I think it’s just kind of wrong to to let a guy walk into your organization and say I want this guy
This guy and this guy as an organization I think you have to put your foot down at some point and say this is not the best use of our resources we need to go and get more depth it’s not worth us putting all of these resources into into
Just Stars that’s just not how you win a title yeah I I think as is always the case with these takey topics it’s just complicated like for instance there were stretches there with the Nets where they looked really good you know so like and and it is worth mentioning if if
Anything I think Kevin Durant’s a victim of some bad luck here in the sense that like but you have to factor in some of it being a risk that he took he there’s a version of this story in Brooklyn where guys stay healthy and he wins a
Title like they were 2021 was one of the most wideopen seasons that I can remember in modern NBA history and and like I know Kevin Durant was all like oh yeah maybe if my foot was behind that line you know I was fatigued you know guys were hurt blah blah blah okay
That’s nice and all you beat the Hawks you beat the Hawks okay you beat the Hawks and then you go to the finals and by then Kyrie’s probably healthy again on his ankle and you probably beat Phoenix like I really do think they were
Close and a lot of this is like a a lot of this is like the winner tells the story and you know it’s funny because like I’ve had I’ve had people non-stop all year talking to me like uh like oh I can’t believe you think the Lakers are a
Contender they’re not a real basketball team they have no chance of winning and it’s like you know it’s not a brave take that that the one team that gets to Hoist the trophy you get to take a Victory lap because there’s a 29 out of 30 chance that you’re correct with these
Other with these other teams right like that’s the thing is like it’s really easy to go back and be like abject failure and it’s like they were this close to achieving the most difficult thing to achieve in the game of basketball which is hoisting the Larry
O’Brien Trophy and so some of it is is is is a little bit like revisionist history that said there are some issues with availability with Kyrie that were documented beforehand there are some issues with availability with Bradley Beal that were documented beforehand I really liked the focus on redundancy from Carson
And I I talk about this concept all the time in basketball like everything is has has nothing to do with your 2K rating so to speak and the individual Talent of each player every basketball team is this is a product of the sum of its parts and every time you add
Different basketball players together there are certain things they do that complement each other well and there are certain things that they do that don’t complement each other well and if we look back through NBA history I would argue the Denver Nuggets last year are the least redundant basketball team I’ve
Ever seen like literally have ever seen you could not construct five more completely different basketball players in that starting lineup that fit together so perfectly the Golden State Warriors there’s no redundancy there they are all so different that 2022 team even the Milwaukee Bucks every single
One of those guys had a unique skill set that they brought to the table the Los Angeles Lakers like the the it was just it is a consistent theme throughout NBA history that the teams that win at the end of the day have an assortment of different kinds of basketball players I
Do think it’s interesting that Kevin Durant and his desire to partner with Kyrie and James Harden and his desire to partner with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal signifies to him that Kevin’s view of the best way to win basketball games is to have this incredible amount of
Basketball skill on the floor and to be able to out skill people now it’s really easy for us to be like that doesn’t work because he came this close again that said I would argue that my personal opinion is very how to win basketball games is different than that I would
Like what Kevin Durant brings to the table and then I’d like a superstar next to him that brings an entirely different skill set to the table that’s great at different things you know and and and from that standpoint we like even if we look back at like LeBron and Kyrie why
Did that work because they were so different right they bring different things to the table even LeBron and Anthony Davis on so many different levels and so it’s just it’s just it to me it’s I think it’s okay to point out that Kevin Durant tried to take a very
Alternative approach in that there are more proven methods that Kevin Durant neglected that said yeah I think it’s revisionist history to just say he made the wrong decisions because he came close and we don’t know what’s going to happen in Phoenix yet and I do believe that there’s some potential for them to
Gain some steam and to make a run so my thing is like and and Logan you brought this up too like you’re right players don’t make good GMS LeBron James is in my opinion the second best basketball player to ever touch a basketball court and arguably the smartest basketball
Player to ever touch a basketball court I thought the decision to blow up all of the wing talent and athleticism they had to bring in an incredibly flawed star that everybody in the world knew was going to make the Lakers the worst team overnight and you find out that LeBron
Was actively pushing for it behind the scenes that’s that’s the same type of mistake right it’s just we give LeBron so much more leeway because he has four freaking championships right but like and he made it to the Western Conference Finals again last year but like I think
I think you Kevin Durant is is getting targeted a little bit here just because it’s an easy NBA storyline in the middle of the Season
Jason Timpf is joined by the guys over at Nerd Sesh to discuss the recent report that Kevin Durant is unhappy in Phoenix as the Suns have been among the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. The guys run through KD’s team history, and how ever since leaving Golden State, he seems to be unhappy year after year.
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48 Comments
KD's worst decision was going to Golden State in the first place. The media and fans have forgotten he was unquestionably the best player on those two title teams. They act like Curry carried him and gave them those titles, and he gets almost no credit for them. Even in winning he was mocked for being soft, and then had his importance minimized the second he left. Basketball nerds will talk about post Golden State problems. But really joining the Warriors for a sure title after blowing a 3-1 lead to them began his downfall with derision and eventual insecurity, and it has never stopped.
Great job guys. Mad respect to KD. Beautiful basketball.
i need that espanola passive living hat
Can't hold the nets against KD. These legacies are being created and/or diminished based off injury luck. The difference between KD having 3 rings and no rings is injury luck.
Fool LeBron the GOAT and best player to ever play in the NBA; remind you the NBA has only been around for like 75 years and LeBron has dominated 21 of them so how the fuc was anyone the GOAT before him when the NBA was really trash being only like 40 years young in the late 80’s & 90’s??
Meh he just got a trip dub and played excellent. Sometimes u need to stay in the moment
Kevin Durant IMO is the most overrated player of the 21st century by a significant margin. When you compare the expectations placed on him to his actual accomplishments and take into account the context, it becomes clear why. Many people fantasize about his potential, but in reality, that potential never becomes a reality and there is a clear reason for that.
P.S. Jason had to resort to creating a hypothetical scenario to continue the conversation (KD's food on the 3pt line. He airballed the 2nd take which is much closer to his actual record in these situations but why let reality spoil a good narrative), which only further proves my point.
KD should go to Boston
no matter how you knock it, his stint at goldenstate was "it". At the time, goldenstate was the complete package. If he stayed a bit longer, I think, they would have won more… maybe 2.
I’m sorry but the whole take everyone hinges on the fact that KD makes the decision on who comes and who goes. Maybe, but more likely, is him having at most, 30-40% of the say. The front office would have made the bulk of the decision. KD/Book aren’t the GM. Don’t pin it on him or Lebron being the GM in the shadows controlling everything behind the scenes. They aren’t.
He should go back to the Warriors. Draymond Green, Moody and picks
I’ve felt this way about Lebron and his choices for teammates as well. Lebron is just so athletic he could at times make up for those choices. Lebrons natural ability could have made him a better Magic, but everyone told him he needed to be MJ. He should have surrounded himself with shooters and a great big man so he could be a true point guard.
Of course. The entire premise of letting ANY player make such decisions… look at NBA player voting for the ASG. It tends to be even worse than fan voting. I think the artist comment is right-on. He and Kyrie both were in that mentality, the "I love your game" mentality. Great for good times, artistry, loving the aesthetic… but not for winning. Who would you rather have build your team, Danny Ainge/Brad Stevens/Calvin Booth or KD/Kyrie/LeBron? Not even a question.
The nets is on him but can’t say rn is,I think he wanted to be a part of the core they had when he requested his trade originally with ayton and cp3 but then the new owner came in and wanted to shake stuff up
You could for any superstar on any team if they stay healthy and have no injuries they would win the chip cmon Jason the KD glazing is weird
The fact that these "Big 3's" havent been willing to take less money to make it work out has also been killing him. Steph and Klay both took less money to make it work in golden state (if i remember correctly) which helped them have a better bench unit.
Considering post GSW he only moved teams through trade, he’s never going to be able to build if the team has to give up something to get you. Why y’all think LeBron only left in free agency.
2021 Nets still would’ve won if the injuries didn’t happen
His his own worst enemy
KD gets way too much criticism compared to players like AD who also forced their way out to join a slam-dunk contender team, but he brings it on himself. If he wasn't so damn sensitive and stopped caring about people saying he took the easy road to those rings I think the media and fans wouldn't be nearly as critical of him and would be able to acknowlege his generational play more readily.
KD is not suffering from bad luck. He's suffering from bad karma. He is the biggest coward in NBA history. The basketball gods are simply reminding him of that.
KD is more of a 2 than Alpha 1. Thats how his career will go down but by his standards he shouldve been the guy leading his team to victory. But the way it look he is satisfied
Lebron isn’t the second best player. He’s not top 5
KD in the knocks with Brunson.
I’ll never forget that the Celtics were his second choice behind GS during that free agency period, and I just think it was SUCH a mistake not going there. He would’ve immediately become maybe the greatest player to ever wear the Jersey of the most historic franchise in basketball, and although it wasn’t THE best roster in the league at the time, clearly Bostons management has shown the ability to build great rosters.
If KD just stays in Golden State everyone eventually just forgets about him jumping ship, he wins multiple more chips, prob another mvp and goes down as a top 10 or higher player, hes just picking awful situation after awful situation and it keeps coming back to bite him
The most successful loser in the NBA
Saying lebron is 'arguably' the smartest……Bruh hes #1 and it's not CLOSE
Stop acting like KD was as lucky as Lebron that OKC didn't get any top draft picks during the 3 years with the Warriors like 2018 with Luka the 3rd pick. He could've easily gone back to OKC and won a title if it was Luka, Westbrook and KD. As for the Suns era, if he had AD then he could've easily won a bubble ring, but instead he had Ayton. Theres nothing your Lebron is better at than KD in their career, they just took different paths.
Hes gonna be fine yall!
"Winning A Pick-up Game And Winning And NBA Title Is 2Different Things!" That was the quote of the year
Sometimes podcasters cross the line. Why not ask KD for an interview and tell him he hasn't reached your expectations. KD is a 2 Time Finals MVP. A 4 time NBA scoring Champ. Perhaps in his opinion he has done enough to be in NBA HOF.
Players don’t make good GM’s… It’s arrogant to think they can do better assembling a team than an actual GM…Blame the basketball operations department in Phoenix who gave KD any say at all in who to acquire or play…
There is no trick to success…
Team needs to be built… he went to already formed team: Worriors
Nets and Suns needs time to be built with same coach…
End of story
most of this is media narrative based on rules they invent on the fly to create drama
Lol why does everyone talk like kd is the gm? 😂 hasnt even been there a year
As a warriors fan, it is so fascinating to me how the KD discourse has gone from "KD ruined the league by going to the warriors" to "damn, KD should've never left the warriors." Like, people kinda recognize now that we were his best fit and were giving him the best chance to write his own legacy. Now we keep seeing this self sabotage and I mean, warriors fans kinda saw it coming when he left. KD will never get the chance to play basketball at the level he got to play with us
Can you stop begging for a subscribe in every video
I felt like we never got an explanation on what happen with the nets and why they all left? It was just weird asl to me fr
KD plays consistently with the spitit and grit henshowed vs Rockets and the Suns going to finals
The moment KD made the comments about the GSW offense saying the motion can only take you so far and eventually they just had to pass the ball to him to get a bucket… he looked karma right in the eye. The only reason he had playoff success is because of their offense specifically the splash bros. Well KD you don't get constant ISO's anymore, now you're actually the center of attention instead of steph.
Who is Bron better than again
KD never came close lol He never made it past the 2nd round even if the jumper against the bucks count they go to conference finals that’s not guaranteed they win it
KD would be the GOAT if his shoes was a Wmns size
KD is probably one of the best players in the history of the game. Right up there with hakeem. How is that a sabotaged career?? Stupid reddit nba 2k opinion. You guys gotta stop playing video games and actually go shppt some freethrows
u have chitty energy, not subbing, i'll sub to the other guys
KD is a skill junkie…
Just look back on his thoughts about Kawhi vs PG.
He thought Kawhi was a "System" player… Nevermind how EFFICIENT hes always been. 😂😂😂
If LeBron would have had KDs success after leaving the Heat he would be massacred