“Draymond said it right? ‘We don’t need you, leave’” - NBA analyst on Kevin Durant taking the easy road to the title, says the narrative was changing before he made the ‘colossal mistake’ of leaving the Warriors
Kevin Durant decision to leave the Warriors in 2019 has been regarded as a "colossal mistake" by Chris Broussard. The analyst explained how the narrative would have unfolded in Durant's favor had he chosen to stay.
If KD had stayed, the greatness deployed would have arguably overwritten his bandwagon narrative. Instead, that narrative still haunts him as he did not stay long enough to overwrite it.
Broussard outlined:
“Draymond said it, right? ‘We don’t need you, leave.’”
Kevin Durant staying on the Warriors would have changed his narrative for the better
After KD joined Golden State, the league erupted, bombarding him with comments about how he sold out for the championship. After winning in 2017 and 2018, Durant mentioned he did not get the respect he deserved for the championships.
Broussard explains:
“We know that part of why he left was because he felt like he would never.get the credit he deserved for being there in Golden State, even as they win. People were focused on, he went to a stacked team.”
Many were arguing that he could not have done it without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Some were claiming the same about Steph after getting Kevin Durant.
After Steph and his Warriors won this year's championship, they solidified their notion that they did not need KD to win championships. This of course made things worse for the 'Durant sell out' arguments. As it stands, Kevin Durant was the one who needed the Warriors, more than the Warriors needed him.
The analyst continued:
“I believe as time was going on when he was in Golden State as they were winning a championship, the narrative was switching from Kevin Durant, ‘how in the world could he go to a 73 win championship team that beat him in the playoffs?’ to ‘Kevin Durant is awesome.’"
He went on to explain saying that was just the beginning of the peak that Durant had just climbed back in 2017 and 2018 with his rings. Broussard said:
“People were praising Kevin Durant. He was being called the best player in the world, better than LeBron James, and had they kept winning I believe it would have got to a point where they would have been so dominant that that would have been the narrative overriding.”
In Chris’ eyes, if Durant stays with Golden State, he proves to the world just how absolutely great he is to the extent of people not being able to deny it. If KD stayed and was alongside Steph while Klay was out with injury, maybe the Warriors have two more finals contentions and possible victories across those years.
Regardless of the amount of times they would have won, the narrative arguably would have stuck that it did not matter due to the greatness of their squad.
The narrative would probably have been much the same, reading more like the squad should win. Much like what we saw happen with the Lakers this season. After building the super team they did only to not make the playoffs, made it look a lot worse for them because people expected them to do big things.
When people expect you to do big things because your squad is stacked and you fail to deliver, the harsh realities unfold around a narrative built against you. Though Kevin Durant’s greatness would have shone much better than it has with him on Brooklyn, a championship for the Nets would arguably be KD’s biggest feat in the last seven years of his career.
When people expect greatness, they usually do not celebrate victory as much as they would. Kevin winning in Brooklyn would show the world that he is the threat he poses to be regardless of who is around him.
Unfortunately for KD, the Warriors made their claim first in proving they did not need him.
If Durant stays with Golden State, Broussard believes that his success would have overwritten the ‘stacked’ narrative. But even decades later, people still use that argument for super teams who have won in the past.
People have also been giving Kevin his dues a lot more since he joined Brooklyn. The efforts he is putting into his new leadership role as the squad builds a future towards a championship is what separates the legends from the elite.
KD is trying to write his own legacy without any reason for someone to take away from his greatness.