[ad_1]
Since the spitting of Monday night in a game against the Clippers, a threatening energy floating above the Warriors is impossible to misread:
That's the end.
Green's first public comment on Thursday has not been released yet.
"Kevin and I talked. We are going forward, "Green said. "No one in this organization – neither me, nor Kevin, nor anyone else – will beat us. If you're one of those 29 other teams, you have to fight us. We will not fight. We will do what we do. And I'm sorry if it spoils everybody's stories. "
"If it only strengthens Kevin, myself and the rest of my teammates, that's what we're going to do. You think you've seen something before, good luck with us now. We will not get rid of a hassle. "
Good thing, no doubt. But this season has never been part of the conversation.
In the short term, this team is too talented and professional to keep going. They are still the prohibitive favorites to win a third consecutive title, a fourth in five seasons.
No, when it is suggested that the row of Monday will be the end of the Warriors' dynasty, we are talking about 2020 and beyond.
The Warriors' place as one of the best teams of all time is assured that they win another title or not, but they have the chance to become the biggest team of all time, better than the Boston Celtics from the 1960s, which won eight consecutive titles in an era of less talent and much less parity (there were less than 10 teams for the entire course).
But they can not get to that level that they stay together.
This is the purpose of all this: the inheritance.
And when you are dealing with legacies, you are dealing with the ego.
To understand what tore apart Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, you need to understand what brought them together.
Do not forget: it was Green who started Durant's recruitment with the Warriors. It was Green, who was both the hardest critic and the biggest supporter of Durant in the Warriors' locker room.
Why? Because the legacy of Green is directly related to this team.
Green is a genius player and a future member of the Hall of Famer – he's just as revolutionary on the defensive side as Stephen Curry was on the offensive side – but let's be honest, though he was in the Blazers, it would only be discussed by guys with League Pass subscriptions and a queue filled with basketball podcasts.
Instead, it's the heartbeat of a team that has defined a basketball generation and a well-known name.
Green once said that he has never been part of a losing team. Not in college, at the AAU, in college and not in the NBA.
And he repeated many times that he wanted his legacy to be that he was a winner – one of the greatest of all time. Unlike most people who say things like that, I believe it.
It's logical, right? Green is a dividing number. He carries his emotions on his sleeve and his genius lies in the nuances of the less entertaining side of the sport. His personality and his game will never be fully understood, but the championships are a justification.
Green also knows that the window of greatness is short. And if Durant leaves, the titles that define him as a player will become much more difficult to win.
That said, there are two aspects to this: Green knew the Warriors needed Durant, but Durant, signing with Golden State in 2016, admitted that he also needed the Warriors.
Durant came to the Warriors because he wanted a higher basketball level. This would be the defining moment of his career.
The fluid system, the Californian culture, the Bay Area, the championships – all this was part of the call.
But a big part of what makes the Warriors exceptional is Green.
During that time he signed up knowing that Green was going to push him to try to improve his game. Green was going to show him how to become a champion.
That's what Green did, but as we're dealing with a world-class talker, these lessons can be abrasive and personal.
Alas, the reward of victory should be worth it – such was the bargain the two men made in the Hamptons. Durant, although Durant won two titles and two MVP awards in the NBA finals, has never really found his place among the Warriors or in the NBA landscape.
In these cynical times, these titles – and these incredible personal achievements – are considered illegitimate by some fans, members of the media and players (active and retired). In fact, this notion has the "wisdom" that prevails around the DK.
And that affects him because he cares about storytelling around him. You feel for the guy.
LeBron was able to erase the label "choker" when he went to Miami – he pushed his game and his popularity to new heights – but it's as if Durant's legacy had been hampered by his mandate of Warriors. As long as he does not have his own team, he will always be the Serpent.
In the organization of the Warriors, we mock these feelings and this notion – they know how hard it is to win – but there is a quite different underlying current that is felt and alluded to, but that does not has never been declared.
Until Monday, that's it.
Do you remember when, in the final of last year's Western Conference, Kerr's microphone caught him telling Durant about a story about Michael Jordan in a stop, in order to to trust his teammates?
It was not the first time this message had to be linked. Durant – who can go into isolation – a heavy hero's ball, because it's impossible for one man to keep it – is often treated as a square peg in a round hole by his own teammates and coaches, who preach the gospel of the movement and rhythm of the ball.
It's still Kerr's team, and he and Stephen Curry, Green and Klay Thompson have built the house where they live now.
When you're one of the best players to ever walk on NBA pitch, it must be a bit of a hit on your ego.
When Durant signed a one – year contract last summer, this was a surprise to the NBA world, but it was quickly celebrated as a sign of empowering players. This agreement allows him to sign a super-max contract – five years, more than 220 million dollars – with the Warriors this summer. It also gives Durant, 30, the opportunity to leave the Bay and play for one of these 29 other teams.
Players have been running in the league lately – a fact we've seen with all the high-level trades in recent years – and Durant has embraced this power.
This decision had disadvantages, however: the free autonomous player of Durant has been unsurprisingly ahead of the Warriors since the beginning of the season.
And while everyone loves to be courted, but the Warriors have the feeling that the impenetrable Durant might have overused the power of his free agency on hold.
While Thompson – himself a free agent at the end of the year – said he wanted to stick around, Durant played an elaborate, passive-aggressive game consisting of "is he going or not?" In the media.
Kerr's mantra for the season – let's take advantage of this campaign, because this may be the last one – and his fervent reluctance to discuss Durant's possible departure make him the team's third rail.
There have been jokes and jokes about it – it's the way the warriors do their jobs – but until Monday, they've been mastered, playful.
But Green does not play this kind of games, and he does not shoot at all. He knows how to press the buttons. This guy can read souls.
So, in a hot moment, with his ego checked, Green says what the Warriors have avoided declaring for three years – he reminded Durant that the Warriors had won without him (with a more colorful language).
Push button.
Durant consciously or not asked everyone to tell him that they need him. And Green told him, in many words, that the Warriors did not do it.
Now everything is laid bare, in the sight of all. And regardless of whether Durant stays or leaves, we'll all be indicating Monday's tiff when Durant makes his decision to stay or leave in July.
This could be seen in a positive light. Maybe cleared up the air and could bring the team, and Durant and Green (who were friends before the fight). This could be the catalyst that triggered the title for years to come.
Or that moment – where the building emotions have boiled and the decorum has been lost – could be the beginning seen from the end.
In any case, there is no doubt that things are different now. Green has been reprimanded by the team, most likely to show deference to the free agent on hold (there will be problems arising from it), and their relationship, once solid, needs to Be repaired if the duo has to stay welded. coming years.
So what legacy wins? What ego reigns?
We will know in July.
Source link
