Durant to Warriors

[hoopsaustin]

Again, you're all thinking about him, now, as a basketball player. Whereas Kevin (you know - the guy who actually made the decision) said:

"But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth."

Sure it's easy for him to have fame and fortune as a player despite residing in a socially conservative and economically depressed area. Now. But he also desires a future. a family. a community that he feels more comfortable residing within. in an area where he would have the same opportunities (or more) after his days as a player. Personal evolution. or as he called it "evolution as a man".

While you guys sit around and continue to call me daft why don't you ask a few minorities how THEY feel about their lives in central Oklahoma. Especially those who frequently travel elsewhere. Then get back to me. Because that uncomfortable feeling is rather prevalent. Like I said pay a little more attention to what momma and her friends have to say.

But I won't say anything else on the matter. Sometimes I am forced to remind myself why I dislike this area so and I am thankful that I have guys like you as shining examples of why I long for bar reciprocity away from the land of rednecks and other social tightasses.

Dang you know Kevin durant personally? That's awesome. Lmao

Quit *****ing about your subjective view of politics, quit this board and move out of our state

 

[StatGeek]

Again, you're all thinking about him, now, as a basketball player. Whereas Kevin (you know - the guy who actually made the decision) said:

"But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth."

Sure it's easy for him to have fame and fortune as a player despite residing in a socially conservative and economically depressed area. Now. But he also desires a future. a family. a community that he feels more comfortable residing within. in an area where he would have the same opportunities (or more) after his days as a player. Personal evolution. or as he called it "evolution as a man".

While you guys sit around and continue to call me daft why don't you ask a few minorities how THEY feel about their lives in central Oklahoma. Especially those who frequently travel elsewhere. Then get back to me. Because that uncomfortable feeling is rather prevalent. Like I said pay a little more attention to what momma and her friends have to say.

But I won't say anything else on the matter. Sometimes I am forced to remind myself why I dislike this area so and I am thankful that I have guys like you as shining examples of why I long for bar reciprocity away from the land of rednecks and other social tightasses.

Its interesting that you presume that you are the only one who knows minorities in Central Oklahoma and that you believe they all feel the same way as opposed to being individual people.

Why do you need reciprocity to practice law in California? There are no residency requirements and you can skip the MBE portion of the bar if you have 4 plus years of practice and are in good standing. I'm sure KD would love for you to join him in the nirvana known as Oakland, CA. Seems like your ignorance may not be limited to this thread. Thank you for reminding me how fortunate I am not to be trapped somewhere I hate due to my intellectual limitations, that would be awful.

 

[coolm]

intellectual limitations? buddy the day you want to engage in an intellectual discussion then name the place and time.

There are a myriad of other reasons but since you think you have such a grasp of the situation then please tell me exactly why I would wish to retake the bar in a civil pleading state ? Retaking the bar and starting over after establishing a niche here is a near impossibility at my age and health. But that would also mean running away from the idiots that propagate this crap like apparently yourself and others which violates my personal ethos. I dont believe in turn tail and running. Maybe that's YOUR MO. It's not mine. And that's the part of KD's decision that left me angered.

And once again - Oakland. You're really just making this so easy. I say some of you are exceptionally small minded and you STILL keep focusing on Oakland. Is irony that hard a concept for you? Oh wait, I forgot, you're Mr. Intellect so that couldnt be the case. Right?

Never said I was the only one who knew about minority issues in "central oklahoma" (??). Apparently I am the only one here - or at least one of the few brave or stupid enough to speak up. That's OK though. As someone here reminded me in confidence those who are perpetuating this problem are the last ones to see it. I stand behind my criticism of the people here and will go to my grave doing so until things change.

As for quitting this board and leaving I have been here longer than most all of you. I violated my own personally-held tenets speaking up on this issue because it is important to me. I will continue my battle in earnest at the OK county courthouse as I have for the last 25 years where I have assisted thousands of Oklahomans, many minorities, who make mistakes and deserve an opportunity to move past them without destroying their lives.

There are serious problems on the social front in this state and you're either cognizant of them or you're in denial. There's no in-between. I urge you and the other deniers here to join me Thursday morning in Judge Hall's court at 8 am. You can read each and every police report and hear the stories from both sides, just like I do, for hundreds of Oklahomans and see the blatant racism, lack of inclusion, disparity, and petty intolerance exhibited by a great many of your local buddies. I dare you to do that and then come back here making the same claims. At least you'll have been exposed to the truth then vice the tralala version some of you seem to believe. Thursday morning, OK County, Jury Assembly room (513) 8 am. There are like 220 on the docket and I have roughly 50 of them (many minorities) probably 1/2 pro bono or close to. All of you feel free to come by and see the effects of the social issues in this state firsthand. Here is a link to the docket ...
http://www.oscn.net/applications/os...ate=7/7/2016&GeneralNumber=2&generalnumber1=2

 

[WTSooner]

I'm just glad OKC has to claim this guy (cool), and not Tulsa. lol

 

[sheepdogs1]

I'm just glad OKC has to claim this guy (cool), and not Tulsa. lol

Now that is some funny stuff. Amazing how there are no limits with respect to who is right or more vindicated. For some, it's all about the me. What a wonderful world (too bad Donna Reed is long gone).

 

[coolm]

I'm just glad OKC has to claim this guy (cool), and not Tulsa. lol

Before I was a Buddhist I would have called you a loser. Now I just shake my head. And it's "coolm" - the same as it has been since 1994 on these boards, the OU Homer board, and the others. At least be accurate with your insults.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

No thanks. He's gone anyway but if he's not he's too horrible of a shooter and shoots way too much. He can't carry this team as we saw last season when KD was injured.

It wasn't just durant that was injured last season. OKC has many injuries last season. Westbrook is mature enough to carry a team. Lance thomas and perry jones were starting some games lol

I'm not a big Presti fan. A lot of hype and he's not really produced anything in OKC. San Antonio has still had great success without him, more than OKC.

not produced anything? Dude is a beast at recognizing talent. I can't really fault him for anything that has happened. Both Harden and Durant came up at horrible times as free agents with the cap exploding. Really sucks and something needs to be done to stop this super team crap. It penalizes the teams that try to build a roster through the draft (small market teams)

One thing I don't understand is why career decisions by NBA players get judged so harshly. Durant gets called "weak" in multiple corners for chasing money/a championship/whatever, but that happens all the time in baseball and football (and, I'm guessing, hockey -- not that I would know) and no one calls the players weak.

It's weak b/c of who he decided to join coupled with all his comments over the years about there being other things more important than rings. Go read royce youngs article. He lists a lot of the things that KD has said recently and in the past that goes 180 degrees opposite of this decision. It's the can't beat them, join them mentality. Which is ironic b/c he is a big reason why we didn't beat them. He was pretty bad the last couple games of the series. He doesn't want to put in the work anymore required to lead a team. Which is fine i guess, but it explains a lot about the thunder's inability to close series out. He isn't the competitior we thought he was.

OKC now has to trade Westbrook, he is not going to sign an extension before UFA starts and will be taking multiple meetings next summer. Sad to admit, but OKC may need to blow it up, create a bidding war for RW and see what they can get for him. Sucks, but that's the life of a small market team in the NBA, OKC has been very fortunate to date.

I wouldn't say they have been fortunate. I mean in the sense of the roster they had, yeah. But with caps increasing at the worst possible time to injuries, they really haven't been fortunate at all

OKC has great attendance, but don't forget that OKC fell ass backwards into Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, etc. OKC has ONLY known winning teams, elite world-class players, winning, contention, etc.

how did they fall into those players?

 

[coolm]

how did they fall into those players?

yeah. I wondered that too. There were TONS of people who thought the Thunder were ignorant for not taking Larry whats-his face at center instead of Harden. Myself included. Same with Westbrook and Ibaka. They didn't fall into that. Those guys were chosen by them. I dont even know if Presti was the one who made the decision but they didnt fall into those picks. Those were intelligent choices.

Interesting piece today stating KD left due to frustration over Westbrook not moving the ball around enough and causing him to take too many contested shots. That I could see - especially given RW's silence about the departure.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-durant-fleeing-opens-door-to-trouble-for-nba

 

[Big Old Booger]

It's hard to win a title. They've been really close a number of times, and had a couple other really good chances missed to injury. They choked away what would have been an excellent opportunity this year. The roster looked better next year than this year had KD signed.


And regardless, when you post just absolutely absurd opinions like your "hot takes" about Westbrook I wonder why I'm even engaging in a conversation with you.

That's fine. We will see who's laughing last. If Westbrook stays he may average 50 points a game but that would mean he's taking 75 shots. Westbrook has benefitted from KD, not the other way around. Admittedly, Westbrook played pretty well in the playoffs though his horrible shooting cost them a Spurs game and I think a Warriors game if I remember correctly. He's not near as good as any guard on the dream team, not even close.

 

[TINY]

yeah. I wondered that too. There were TONS of people who thought the Thunder were ignorant for not taking Larry whats-his face at center instead of Harden. Myself included. Same with Westbrook and Ibaka. They didn't fall into that. Those guys were chosen by them. I dont even know if Presti was the one who made the decision but they didnt fall into those picks. Those were intelligent choices.

Interesting piece today stating KD left due to frustration over Westbrook not moving the ball around enough and causing him to take too many contested shots. That I could see - especially given RW's silence about the departure.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-durant-fleeing-opens-door-to-trouble-for-nba

That article is complete garbage. Russell Westbrook was the best point guard in the playoffs last season. He had way more assists per game than the next closest player. KD was where the ball would stop. He is not a good passer or dribbler.

 

[inoref]

It's the NBA..who cares

 

[coolm]

That article is complete garbage. Russell Westbrook was the best point guard in the playoffs last season. He had way more assists per game than the next closest player. KD was where the ball would stop. He is not a good passer or dribbler.

Lots of truth there. Didn't say I agreed with the reasoning ... saying I can see him leaving if he is frustrated that way. RW has been very silent. I havent always bought this thing of "we get along great". often seemed like a forced fit. I do agree about KD's handles and passing though. And I also remember some very good ball movement (at times) in the playoffs. I do agree they looked to shoot too quickly but they were also trying to establish pace. IF KD was *****ing about shots being open then pick up your damn feet a bit and move quicker ... he cuts like my dead granny ... maybe a jab step or two ... people aren't just going to leave you open to shoot dude. You're 11 feet tall so it's not like they're gonna block you.

 

[WTSooner]

You're 11 feet tall so it's not like they're gonna block you.

He is listed at 6'9.

At least be accurate with your insults.

 

[coolm]

He is listed at 6'9.

At least be accurate with your insults.

I added in his arm length. you didnt. you need to stop this personal trashing and go to the issues WT. I am tired of your insults. and I didnt insult you.

 

[Sooner04]

Alright. Send it to the NBA board, mods.

 

[AdaSooner]

Alright. Send it to the NBA board, mods.

In due time, or if the southerly direction continues. This thread would have been moved long ago if there was more OU or college news available. Unfortunately, KD's departure is the most active thread on the front page right now.

Besides, I don't like to be alone with no one to talk to.

 

[HeismanWatch]

Alright. Send it to the NBA board, mods.

Agreed, it's full of bad reasoning. :facepalm 10% of the posters actually believe basketball had anything to do with KD's basketball decision. :ez-roll:

 

[Mr.B!!!]

I hope they get beat just for fun. You try to create a super team - the Warriors have a big problem in next year's free agency because both Curry and Durant may be free agents. A double max at 37M a year and there is only one basketball on the court. Durant's scoring will drop at least 5-7 points a game.

The bigger problem is that 29 other owners are p.o.'d that this happened when the last collective bargaining agreement was intended to create a competitive balance that rewarded small market teams that were run well (i.e. the Thunder) but still gave big market teams an out if they wanted to spend the money (the luxury tax). While it took a convergence of several lucky instances (Durant being unhappy, Steph being underpaid, salary cap spike, etc.) there is a strong chance that owners push for changes this summer that result in a lockout. I'll keep my personal opinions on Durant's move to myself, but there is no denying that what he did screwed up any semblance of competitive balance barring injury or a complete chemistry breakdown (I wouldn't root for an injury ever, but the first time Draymond gets up in KD's face should be fun).

 

[coolm]

The bigger problem is that 29 other owners are p.o.'d that this happened when the last collective bargaining agreement was intended to create a competitive balance that rewarded small market teams that were run well (i.e. the Thunder) but still gave big market teams an out if they wanted to spend the money (the luxury tax). While it took a convergence of several lucky instances (Durant being unhappy, Steph being underpaid, salary cap spike, etc.) there is a strong chance that owners push for changes this summer that result in a lockout. I'll keep my personal opinions on Durant's move to myself, but there is no denying that what he did screwed up any semblance of competitive balance barring injury or a complete chemistry breakdown (I wouldn't root for an injury ever, but the first time Draymond gets up in KD's face should be fun).

good point! agreed.

 

[BoulderSooner]

He is listed at 6'9.

At least be accurate with your insults.

and he is actually 7 foot