Kevin Durant is still making headlines after signing a two-year, $54 million deal with the Golden State Warriors last week. Durant, who was unable to close out the Dubs when OKC went up 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals, is teaming up with three other All-Stars, and Pacers President Larry Bird is somewhat puzzled by that decision.
The three-time champ with the Boston Celtics went on Sirius XM NBA radio recently and spoke about Durant’s decision to join the 73-win Warriors.
“I know back in the day, I couldn’t imagine going to the Lakers and playing with Magic Johnson. I’d rather try to beat him,” said Bird in his southern twang. “I could never imagine myself going and joining another team with great players, because I had great players and I was in a great situation.”
Bird and Magic are constantly debated as the best guys during the 80s, and both had exceptional teams around them, as Bird pointed out. Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, two Hall of Famers, are just a couple of the great names that Bird played with in his career. There’s no doubt that Bird was in a great situation, and it’s debatable whether Durant’s situation was just as great.
Yes, he had Russell Westbrook who’s a top-five player in the league, but, at times, Westbrook and Durant looked like they struggled on the floor together as both wanted to assert themselves as the dominant player. Russ would play wildly and attempt bad shots, or commit boneheaded turnovers, an issue that the Celtics never really had.
Moreover, they were winning. And winning cures everything.
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