Turn Out The Lights, Kevin Durant Has Joined The Dark Side

Kevin Durant will sign a two-year deal with the Warriors at $54.3 million, league sources say, with a Player Option for Year 2

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 4, 2016

I like to fancy myself a creative person. That's not to say that I am some kind of wordsmith that's over here painting a beautiful mental picture by stringing together awe inspiring adjectives with vivid verb play. However, I certainly wouldn't waste my time if I thought my writing was just some variation of the same regurgitated opinions repeated - ad nauseam - by more popular sports outlets. That's why I don't feel right about the next thing that is about to flow from my fingertips. It feels like an unintelligibly lazy assessment, but I would be compromising the integrity of this very site if I took a stance on this subject that didn't start with a speculative statement that's starting to bear a strong resemblance to a fact...

Kevin Durant is a fucking coward.

I know, I know. I heard the devil's advocates that don't think public figures should be criticized for their career choices by the people that indirectly fund their career choices, but - I have to be honest - the logic was so flawed that I didn't even bother listening. Kevin Durant has earned the right to get paid far too much money to play basketball in whatever region of the country that he so chooses, but - as an overly opinionated fan - I have the right to call him a vagina when that choice shows reflects a lack of fortitude fitting of a man without testicles. I proclaimed when the season ended that the exit path he just chose would be the pussy's way out and I am not changing my tune just because it means that I care far too much about he results of adults playing a kid's game. Kevin Durant went spread eagle and showed the entirety of the sports world his big hairy beaver, and I refuse to act like I am above calling attention to shameless acts of public nudity. 

There are, quite literally, no comparisons. Well, at least not any that can't be readily dismissed with sound logic. The Mailman's best days of delivery were well behind him when Karl Malone decided to take what was left of his parcels to Los Angeles. Gary Payton went full blown 'Juice' when he was manning the point for the Lakers, because 'The Glove' was about 5 years past fitting at the time. We CAN talk about how 'The Decision' was the most disgraceful act of self promotion in sports history. We CAN'T say LeBron's decision to leave a bad Cleveland team to join Miami was as desperate of an act as Kevin Durant joining the winningest regular season team of all time that would be back-to-back champions had it not been for one superhuman act of athleticism. 

We are talking about a guy that was complicit in a choke job against the team he now hopes to piggy back en route to an undeserved title(s). People may not know this, but the person that copyrighted the phrase "if you can't beat them, join them" was actually a front running piece of shit that was insufferable to be around. On the heels of a series in which the Oklahoma City Thunder proved themselves very much capable of beating the Golden State Warriors, one of the top 3 players in all of basketball decided that doing so would be too difficult of an undertaking for him. It will likely net him the ring he so desires, but just because Kevin Durant is taking the path of least resistance to becoming a champion doesn't mean he has the heart of one. I don't care that "Jordan would have never done this". I care that my sports watching experience has been negativity effected by one man's   decision to turn what little amount of parity the NBA did have into a parody of itself, and I feel comfortable calling that man a pussy because - full disclosure - I'm too damn frustrated to voice my displeasure in a more mature way. Alas...

​Sidenote: Kevin Durant shouldn't concern himself with opinions of the masses. I certainly hope he thought this all out though, because the dude that became visibly overwhelmed by the most minute amount of media scrutiny in Oklahoma City just made himself public enemy #1 by joining the NBA equivalent of 'The Evil Empire'. He better be ready to - rightfully and wrongfully - catch flak from every single direction at the first sign of adversity, because he just took the King's crown when it comes to being a lightning rod for any and all forms of criticism - regardless of how just they may be.