NFL
By: Jeffrey Newholm
An old saying in life is that “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going”. This surely seems true for the NBA as well. The Warriors were faced with a 40 year title drought before coach Kerr led a miraculous turnaround with homegrown talent already on the roster. The dubs had to find out that lesson again the hard way this year after blowing games five and six of the Finals with lackadaisical efforts. But I fear that recent MVP Kevin Durant doesn’t look at life this way. He has battled heroically for his Thunder throughout his career, only to come up short each time. 2016 was especially heartbreaking, with OKC collapsing after winning three of their first four playoff games against the dubs. KD was tired of waiting for everything to come together. So today came the biggest 4th of July firework the NBA his ever seen: his decision to sign with the same Golden Sate team that denied him a chance at a title.
Our own Monte Perez has come out to defend KD’s bombshell of a decision. And I must hasten to add there’s no need to hate on the guy for trying to make his own decisions in life. But I am concerned, not for fans sick of Golden State winning, but rather for Durant himself. In his own words, from this morning’s Player Tribune post, he says that “I’m from Washington, D.C. originally, but Oklahoma City truly raised me. It taught me so much about family as well as what it means to be a man. There are no words to express what the organization and the community mean to me”. And yet he wishes to leave in search of greater glory. Perhaps he admires what Lebron was able to do with the Heat. But there’s more to the story I fear KD doesn’t see.
Monte argues that “Life is about surrounding yourself with successful people”. I’ll easily concede Durant will have a better chance of winning a ring in Oakland. But true satisfaction in life isn’t from just achieving success. It’s about achieving success in a hard-working and fulfilling way. In Lee Jenkins’ (Sports Illustrated) article on the Cavs’ title run, he notes that “When James won his first championship, with Miami in 2012, he assumed he would cry afterword. But he didn’t and when the Heat repeated in ’13, the tears still didn’t come. ‘This is different,’ he said, wiping his eyes. ‘This is home'”. Lebron took a shortcut to success, and when success came, it wasn’t as sweet as he envisioned. Durant’s situation is even more troubling.
KD isn’t orchestrating a dream team with his buddies-he’s trying to piggyback off an already successful team. The dubs won 73 games last year and were one minute away from a repeat title. Even if (really more like when with their current talent) they win again, Durant will be viewed as a ringer. And even worse, the whole world views Golden State as prohibitive favorites. Research has shown that the best joys in life are unexpected joys. That’s why Lebron cried tears of joy after winning in Cleveland: no one expected the Cavs to win three in a row against the Dubs. If and when Durant wins his first ring, I think his natural reaction won’t be unbridled joy. It will instead feel like the fulfillment of a patently obvious manifest destiny. And I think OKC could have offered something much sweeter.
If Durant had stuck it out in Oklahoma, the city where he learned “to be a man”, the journey back to the finals would have been so much more satisfying. And that’s what makes our final achievements so sweet: the road to get there, not the destination itself. Durant could have established his own legacy and made a name for himself in a city he loves, and that loves him. Instead he jumped on the bandwagon of an already loaded team. Do I hate Kevin Durant or wish him ill in Golden State? Certainly not. I actually feel sorry for him. He choose to take the easy route to every hoopster’s dream destination. When he looks back on it after he gets there, I fear he’ll question if it was all worth it. For Lebron, there was ultimately a chance for redemption. I sincerely hope that, for his own sake, there will be one for KD as well.
You can follow me on Twitter @JeffreyNewholm and our blog @NutsAndBoltsSP. Follow Monte too @Montetjwitter11.
