Charles Barkley, a man who shamelessly (and unsuccessfully) chased after NBA titles in Phoenix and Houston during his own Hall of Fame career, claims that Kevin Durant is attempting to “cheat” his way towards a championship.
"Kevin Durant is trying to cheat his way into a championship."
– Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/vf6hUC1TI6
— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) July 6, 2016
Durant stunned the hoops world this week by leaving the OKC Thunder as a free agent and joining the Golden State Warriors.
Sir Charles isn’t the only old-timer who’s less than thrilled with KD’s decision.
"To me, it's about your legacy versus rings." @ReggieMillerTNT on KD's #FreeAgency decision: https://t.co/kWPVIijwcw pic.twitter.com/rqiAZXHDsV
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 6, 2016
Per Bleacher Report:
The idea of a recent MVP joining the reigning MVP on a team stocked with All-Stars will be judged as unseemly, even cowardly. […] “If u can’t beat um join um,” 10-time All-Star Paul Pierce tweeted, adding a chin-scratching emoji for effect:
It was an accurate summation. Durant is literally joining the team he couldn’t beat, the Golden State Warriors, who overcame a 3-1 deficit to knock out the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals just five weeks ago.
But consider it another way, for a moment: Durant is joining the team that gives him his best chance to evolve. […] “Ultimately, he got frustrated and felt that they had plateaued,” said a person with insight into Durant’s thought process. “[Billy Donovan] came in, and he still had the same issues that he had with (Russell Westbrook) under (Scott Brooks.) The offense didn’t change much. He still had to take a ton of contested shots every game; and that’s when he had the ball at all.”
