After joining the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant took some flack from a lot of people outside the Bay Area. While there were nearly as many media people and fans ready to defend Durant's right to make whatever choice he wanted as a free agent, many argued that the decision reflected poorly on him.
(I wrote that the decision wasn't one that should invite "good or bad" evaluations, but to try and claim Durant's decision had no impact on how we view him is naive.)
Several former NBA players, most notably Charles Barkley, were among those to express their disappointment with Durant after his decision. But Durant told The Vertical that no one has had the fortitude to criticize him to his face, and he defended the idea that while he values the input of those around him, he doesn't care if random people "like him."
Though he has heard some criticism from Barkley and fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, various talking heads and people in social media who believe he has cheated the system and cut corners to a ring, Durant said the reaction to his choice hasn't been too bad: "All that stuff happens on the Internet. I haven't had one person come to me and say anything negative. ... It's easy for the critics on the outside to tell you what to do, to tell you how to play. I'm the one that's going through it, so I can't really worry about the outside noise. The work don't stop. Everything stays the same."
Durant has repeatedly stated that he hasn't changed as a person strictly because he chose to play basketball somewhere else and he shot down a question when it was implied that this process was more difficult given his desire to be liked.
"No, I don't. I want to be liked by people that I think love me. People I don't know, I don't care about," Durant said. "I want you to respect my game and what I bring to the floor, and if you don't like what I do as a person, I don't care. I want you to respect my game and if you don't, that's your problem. But I don't want to be liked. If somebody says, 'KD's a bad person,' I'm not going to go in my home and boo-hoo tears. If you don't like my game, I'm going go work on it and prove people that I am who I am, so it's a difference."
Source: Why Kevin Durant isn't worried about his legacy.
On the one hand, yes, if you have a problem with Durant, you should say it to his face. On the other, that's extremely awkward. There's also little doubt that if Durant sees Charles Barkley that Barkley will tell him straight up what he thinks while also acknowledging what a great player he is. Barkley has taken these positions before but his opinions are always based basketball, not their value as people. Charles Barkley isn't going to call Kevin Durant a bad person for leaving Oklahoma City; very few people outside of hardcore Thunder fans will and certainly no one rational will take that approach.
Also interesting in that interview with Michael Lee of the Vertical was this quote, though, which really gets to the heart of the matter.
"As time goes on, you taste winning a little bit, it becomes infectious and you want to feel it all the time, especially now," Durant said. "As you get older and older, that's all you really want to do. I know what I am as a basketball player. I know what I bring. I know how I am and what type of a teammate I am. That stuff is a given to me. I just want to be part of helping a team. I want to be a part of being a great teammate and leaving a long-lasting impact on my teammates for the rest of our lives. That's my whole goal."
That's kind of what it comes down to. Durant wanted to be "a part" of something special and wanted to be a great "teammate" on an all-time great team, which the Warriors will almost certainly be. A lot of people wanted Durant to be something more than that, to be the best player, the leader, the one who carried a team like Oklahoma City (which was great in its own right up until July 4th) to something special. Durant didn't want that, he wanted to just be a part of something he thought was better.
In the aftermath, this conversation will continue through the summer in quieter tones, and then resurge as the Warriors inch closer to their opening night game. Eventually, though, the conversation will shift to other matters and everyone will adjust to this new universe where Durant is still a great player, and by all accounts, a quality person, who just happens to be a part of what could be an all-time great team. These quotes from Durant are part of the process of Durant, and the rest of the world, moving on from the shock of Durant's decision to leave Oklahoma City.
