The Incomparable Kevin Durant

With the first pick of the draft the Portland Trail Blazers select Greg Oden.

Zapruderesque but with cheering.

The funniest thing about that draft were the various idiots that opined “You can’t blame Portland for taking a big man. That’s always the percentage move.” That’s the world view of a postal employee. Take the dental plan! Good dental!
 
They tried to draft a guy whose absolute upside is Robert Parish while a Top 10 Player Ever possible was on the board.
 
Kevin Durant being a dominant NBA player is just about the most predictable thing in the history of the draft. Did this surprise anyone? Honestly. Was there a single person in America other than the Portland GM who is surprised that Kevin Durant is one of the best 5 players in the league?

Cursed franchise.

Scip – I posted this a while back but it was an interesting article abou tlies, damned lies and statistics.

Kevin’s Conundrum

Seriously, who feels worse about KD: Trailblazer fan or Sonic fan? I mean, the Sonics only moved away once.

I wish Oden had never gotten injured. Now all we’re hear is, “Well, we’ll never know who was going to be better if both had been healthy,” by the crowd that said that Oden should have been the first player picked.

And we’re still waiting for someone to try and take his H-O-R-S-E title.

I’m dead but I would still own him at the Aqueduct.

I would not sign the guy. It’s simply not inevitable that he’ll make mid-career strides. Some guys do. But many don’t, and he’d have to improve a lot to help a team.

Thanks for the repost Sailor. That article frequently comes to mind while watching KD tear shit up. His mind too?

Was there a single person in America other than the Portland GM who is surprised that Kevin Durant is one of the best 5 players in the league?

I know this is rhetorical but Kevin Cowherd probably fits that description. I remember him cracking on KD because he couldn’t bench press 225.

Colin, I meant Colin. Got Kevin on the brain.

LeBron brought me back from sporadic to casual NBA fan a few years ago…Durant has taken me the next step to all-out fan.

I don’t even think Pritchard is surprised at how good Durant has become. I think he really wanted to take him, but too often, GMs are looking out for their job security as opposed to what’s best for the team (see: Bryan Colangelo in Toronto).

Anyone who had ever watched basketball knew Durant was the best player in that draft, but they all convinced themselves that you don’t pass on Bill Russell. Which is true…if you’re in 1960.

I like KD. He seems to have a remarkable head on his shoulders for a 21 year old kid who has been showered with accolades for years. It is a shame he is playing in such a media hole. Can you imagine if he were a Knick?

Simmons was in the Oden camp going into that draft and has since admitted he was wrong (a feat in its own right).

I know the Barnes bashing may be a little overboard these days, but despite KD’s insane college efforts, I still always felt that Barnes got in the way of him reaching his full collegiate potential (for that year at least).

Question for the basketball-savvy: did Rick Barnes lean on Durant the same way that he’s leaning on Brown, Hamilton, et al? If not, why?

Not having a legitimate background in basketball, I don’t understand the nuance as to why he would take such a different approach with this year’s team – aside from the obvious "Durant’s an extraordinary & transcendent player, so leave him be" angle.

On the big man argument, what’s incredible is that Bill Simmons, self-professed biggest Kevin Durant fan alive (copyrighted) and Greg Oden-basher, makes the exact same mistake in his Top 40 Trade Value list, putting Durant at 3 and Howard at 2.

He does this even while writing a blurb about Howard satisfied with being good rather than great. That is, he makes a point counter-intuitive to his rankings.

Durant may have made the unfortunate mistake of being born at the same time as LeBron, but here’s hoping that we see them face off in the finals over the next decade. OKC vs. CLE? Hopefully not. I wouldn’t mind making it HOU vs. NY, or something.

A couple of weeks ago, Durant was leading the league in FT attempts, and FTs made. He is doing the hard work on offense that a team looks to their alpha male for. I suspect this is why he has more turnovers this year- he is just taking the ball to the hoop more.

In a SI article last month, he said that despite his increased weight and strength, he still can’t bench 225#. He’s not worried, though.

" His scoring just…is. " Outstanding .

Levander, Durant was a complete college player when he arrived on campus. It was no surprise that he won POY. Durant’s greatest asset and the real key to his enormous success is his hard work. He is renowned for his countless hours in the gym, his countless reps working on every conceivable jumper. Damion James has gone up quite a few pegs this year because he has clearly been working on some “Durant” shots on his own free time.

What is so absurd about the whole Greg Oden thing is his history of injuries leading up to the draft, coupled with Durant’s work ethic. The NBA wastes draft picks every year on guys who are physically talented but don’t have the heart or desire to form into an amazing (or even good) player. The are drafted with the idea that the light switch will come on and they will love basketball, which to me is a huge gamble. Guys that work hard like Durant stick around in the league for a long time, even if they aren’t talented. But when you have a 6’9" wing guy with an even bigger wingspan who works as hard on his game as anyone the NBA has ever seen? That is a no brainer, Oden being injury prone or not. Oden’s best game in college wasn’t as good as Durant’s scoring and rebounding average that same year. It was ridiculous then, it is ridiculous now.

Lebron is Lebron, nothing more to say. Wade is carrying his team nowhere, he is a great player but not at that higher level where he can shoulder the load. Dwight Howard can be scary good, and this year he is just starting to add some low post moves in his game. He can be as dominant as anyone who has played in the post, but those that say he is too nice are right. He is too happy out on the court. We all know how dominant Carmelo can be, and watching him outduel Lebron the other night was a treat. The NBA is on a nice upswing with talented guys who actually play the game of basketball right (unlike a decade ago).

Durant has OKC playoff bound, and there isn’t a team out there in the west that wants to play them come playoff time. They play defense and have a cold blooded assassin for close games. They have lost 3 OT games and 4 other games by 3 points or less. As good as this team is playing, they just need to make minor improvements to have won those other 7 games putting them up near the top of the league. James Harden can shoot the 3, and if they can rely on him more off the bench you will see them move up to that next level very shortly.

While in LA for THE game I asked an Angelino friend of mine who he would take if given the choice between Kobe and KD…right now. He couldn’t believe I would even ask something so sacreligious. Because of the age gap, you have to go Durant. Sure you might miss out in the next year or two while Durant is acclimating himself to playoff basketball, but by the time he’s chamionship ready he’ll be 24.

Portland fan: “But, but , we already had Brandon Roy!!!”

Oh yeah, if he was still at UT, he’d be hitting 66% from the line.

Nice write up. Durant truly is an elite player now. He has two huge problems as far as recognition. 1. He’s in OKC. Nuff said. 2. Lebron. Kevin is a scoring machine and he still has room for growth especially developing his post up game and in the rebound department where I think he’ll settle in at about 9-10 a game, but he’ll never be the passer Lebron is.

So to answer your question, most complete offensive weapon ever? Nope and may never be even in his own era unless he suddenly becomes a great passer. Great passers generally don’t develop at this point in their careers. Lebron, Magic, Stockton all came in the league as great passers. Also Durant will probably never be leaned on to initiate offense like that (2.7 ass/gm). His A/T ratio show that he still has a long way to go as a truly great initiator of offense. .8 A/T over his career shows us where his next focus should be. Knowing his work ethic, he’ll make himself by sheer will a good passer but he’ll never be elite like Lebron. He’s a better shooter than Lebron by a good measure already though.

Truly amazing what this kid has done at 21, but the best part about him is his humility. His ability to enjoy the moment but keep his head about him. Extraordinary that by next year, he’ll be considering a top 5 player overall if he isn’t already (Lebron, Wade, Melo, Howard, Kobe)……

Yo, Colorado Ag, I was totally into tha KD when he came out foo. I dint want no damn greg odor

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=nbamockdraft/070627

My bad. I am guilty of reaching for reasons to mock Simmons.

I think people thought the Blazers were drafting Odin, the ruler of Asgard.

http://saxons.etrusia.co.uk/images/odin2.jpg

Kevin makes me want to watch NBA basketball, a truly astonishing development.

One could see that Oden was injury-prone with a limited offensive game and mobility. I saw Oden as a Mutombo, but the Robert Parish comparison may even be better. What if Portland rolled out Aldridge, Zach Randolf and Durant to go with Andre Miller & Roy?

Kevin Durant made me realize OKC has a basketball team now.

With Durant, Roy, and Aldridge on the same team, Portland would have been on track to be the best team in the NBA. Like…ever. Plus those three are like perfect complements of each other.

“Yo, Colorado Ag, I was totally into tha KD when he came out foo. I dint want no damn greg odor”

yeah no way did Sports Guy ever say he wanted Oden over Durant. He was all over the KD bandwagon as early as conference play during his 1 year at UT.

Barnes caught a lot of flak the KD year too for his offensive offensive mind. Most people’s comments were that we didn’t use KD enough but I remember seeing that he led the country in % of his team’s points and shot attempts and that was with a future top 10 overall pick at PG and other good players. I thought getting a 4 seed was dam good for that team.

I was at a blackjack table in Vegas last March during the weekend in which Texas was ousted by Duke.

I sat there with several other unknown guys and the conversation, inevitably, turned to basketball on a March Madness weekend. Somehow, someone mentioned Durant and then Texas. My ears perked up and that’s when Portland Guy opted in to the conversation.

“Durant is overrated. He couldn’t even get Texas out of the first weekend and his team sucks in Oklahoma City.”

Me, waking up to the conversation,: “Where are you from?”

Portland Guy: “Portland, why?”

Me: “Isn’t it bad enough that your franchise embarrasses your city not once, but twice, by passing on two of the greatest ever to play the game? Why are you embarrassing yourself further by bitching about one of those guys?”

PG: “Hey, you watch. When Greg Oden is healthy and comes into his own, people will forget about Kevin Durant.”

Me: “Are all people in Portland as stupid as you? You honestly sound dumber than you look, which is stunning.” (Dude was fat, wearing a tank top and had an Ivan Drago flat top.)

The table drifted back into an uncomfortable silence.

Apparently it is a mark of shame for Portland citizens, so they deny Durant’s existence.

He is literally the only reason I will watch a non-playoff NBA game. Thanks for the write-up.

Kevin Durant cured cancer with a step-back “J” from behind the arc.

Im going to watch him put a hurting on Phoenix tonight….at the ford.

Portland is funny that way. They can assemble a very talented cast, but when it’s time to grab the headliner they go the David Caruso route.

Somebody post that Nike commercial featuring Velvet Hoop.

It’s interesting that KD is someone both Sooners and Longhorns can agree on. He’s an incredibly classy kid, with phenomenal potential and great heart. OKC has been blessed to have two of the most humble stars in the league play here, first Chris Paul, now Kevin Durant. It took a little time for us to warm up to the Thunder, especially since we had such a good experience with the Hornets.

Hopefully Durant will continue the long history of Texas players bringing championships to the state of Oklahoma. :D

“You may as well try to stop the seasons from changing” -Genius. Stealing this.

HoyaSooner -
 
Oklahoma fans, to their credit, have embraced Durant despite Kevin’s penchant for throwing up the Hook ‘Em. He’s just a really good dude who works hard and I think people from a community like OKC get behind that, irrespective of affiliation.
 
I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, but the NBA does routinely rig games for large market teams so I’m concerned that OKC will never be allowed ascendance. The proof will be in that pudding by 2012, IMO.

By the way, to echo the sentiments already expressed here on this thread, I pretty much detest the NBA, but Durant has singlehandedly pulled me back in.
 
He actually inspired me to go on to Youtube and search out a bunch of archival stuff from the 70s and 80s which was a lot of fun. It really challenged my assumptions that I had about some players.

Same here. NBA has been dead to me for years. Even if I missed his game on TV, I always check the Durantula boxscore.

He’s got a legit shot at Jordan’s streak.

Great post.

Unlike most here, I love the NBA. It’s flawed and I, too, believe that we’ve seen the Hand of Stern possibly help out some teams (Lakers-Kings 2002, anyone?). Regardless, I grew up watching this league and I still love it. Call me crazy, but I enjoy watching good defense, team play and offense that goes beyond chucking up desperation threes when a team is down. Spare me the college ball defenses, I’ve heard them aplenty. (I enjoy NCAA ball and watch it too)
 
That said, I consider myself to have a pretty good understanding of how things work in the NBA, and I would like counter Scipio’s argument that they’ll get locked out by Stern because of Durant. Stern knows that this is a star’s league and Durant is the fastest rising one right now. The entire nation got behind Michael Jordan even though he defied the usual logic of rooting for the underdogs. Few cared, even fans of opposing teams because he was transcendent. If Durant can become transcednent, he’ll make OKC appointment viewing. Stern would be an idiot to do anything to mess up Durant’s journey to the top.

David Stern loves his stars, especially the hard working, seemingly nice ones. I’ll bet he absolutely loves Durant, and while he’d prefer him to play at a big market, they can get past that if Durant can prove to be a talent that everyone just ends up loving. Will that happen? Maybe. If so, locking out OKC from the the finals won’t happen. It’d be at a detriment to the league in fact to do that. My 2 cents, let the NBA bashing begin.

Awesome post Scip. The NBA’s unwatchable for me, but I’ll still tune in for a Durant game.

And for what’s it worth, the NBA lost me from 1998 – 2005. Lebron James lured me back in, so I’m not that hard core. I couldn’t bear those years I stopped watching.

BOW -
 
We’re on the same page.
 
I’m describing the TV market interplay. If Durant becomes a massive superstar and the Thunder become a media draw, then they won’t get Sacramento-ed. But his chances are much better in Chicago, NY, LA, Atlanta, Houston.

Thanks for clarifying, Scipio. Here’s to hoping Durant pulls it off. I would watch every game that kid plays if possible, and would prefer that he raise an improbably positioned small market team to great heights rather than see him dump them for more money in LA or where ever.

Come to think of it, in the post-expansion days have we seen a superstar stick with a tiny, small market team and take them to the glory land? Bird – Boston. ‘Isiah – Detroit. Magic – LA. Jordan – Chicago. Hakeem – Houston. Jordan Again. Then in the last decade it was basically great teams winning. Duncan and Shaq split 7 of the last decade’s titles (if you include final year of the 90’s make it 8). Then had one Miami and Boston title as well. The only near small market team is San Antonio.

It should be noted that OKC’s GM (Sam Presti) came from San Anton’s front office, he’s savvy and plays his cards well. Has stockpiled draft picks and contracts. San Antonino did have the benefit of being a storied franchise that has rarely, if ever, had awful seasons. When they did, they won the lottery and got the greatest PF of this or any era. There’s always a little, or a heaping does of luck involved. OKC has Durant, a smart GM, a great young core and what appears to be a lucky find in Scotty Brooks. Durant could pull it off.

Anyone who saw the first half of his game at KU saw this shit coming a mile away. That means you, Bill Self.

Durant is the type of person that a commish hopes will come along as a poster boy for the league. I hope that he stays grounded as his success continues.

It sounds such as you’re creating problems yourself by attempting to unravel this difficulty instead of taking a look at why their is a problem within the first place.