First, I'll say there's an outside shot that Kevin Durant just spoke himself into effigy. Considering how carefully Golden State laid out the red carpet to make sure an outside talent, who was/is basically the word-for-word definition of a mercenary, felt more than welcomed on a team that was established prior to his arrival, I suppose it's not out of the question that they throw him a bone by hanging him a banner and/or sculpting him a bust. The Warriors have gone so far out of their way to make sure KD's precious feet don't get irreparably stepped on, as evidenced by Draymond Green getting suspended without pay for being a big old meanie head, that they might as well have taken out an insurance policy on his sneakers. I would think they'd stop catering to the sensitivity of someone who already has one foot out the door when he finally puts that second foot after the other, but clearly a soft spot exists for the back-to-back Finals MVP that tends to only have hard feelings. Now, if Kevin Durant is right and his number does end up engraved into the back of his likeness then that speaks more negatively of the organization than it does positively of his legacy. The three homegrown talents that, over time, developed into the winningest team ever and changed the way the sport of basketball is played for the foreseeable future? Sure. Build them up as tall as you'd like as soon as the ink is dry on their retirement paperwork. However, if all of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green get a garden of statues then, comparatively, Kevin Durant should get nothing more than a goddamn gnome that holds the gate open. Three short seasons, no matter how unbelievably successful, don't (or, more accurately, shouldn't) get you immortalized in bronze unless you tragically die at their conclusion. We are talking about someone who somehow didn't see the backlash coming when he hopped on the bandwagon of a 73-win team that had just knocked him out of the playoffs in demoralizing fashion. Therefore, it's not a huge surprise that Kevin Durant has a fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to become a franchise fixture forever. To clear things up for him, a player who is on the fast track to becoming an NBA legend gave up the opportunity to be an organizational legend when he bolted from a team and city that already anointed him as such when they were just starting to reach the peak of their promise. LeBron James didn't return to the Cavaliers because he missed Cleveland winters, much less Dan Gilbert. He returned to the Cavaliers, in part, because there was no circumstance under which he would be canonized quite like the teammate that basically already had Miami's county named after him. Personally, I think it's incredibly obnoxious to be talking about the historical standing of your tenure with a team before it's even over, as any tribute whatsoever would be more of a privilege than a right, but to do so in such a self-aggrandizing fashion makes this even more sad than it does stupid. No matter how many times you catch up to them, there's nothing heroic about the chase of championships. For Kevin Durant to think, that when all is said and done, he not only gets to have his cake, but also gets to be serenaded by a legion of fans who are more loyal to Steph Curry prior to him eating it all up is laughable. His own damn teammate doesn't love him like that, so I don't know what makes him so sure that the Bay Area does.
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