is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

[Orangeman20]

Kevin durant is a dynamite player is young and getting better every year. he is currently 3rd in scoring which is not bad considering the people in front of him (lebron and kobe). he also has other really good stats and is averaging more than 4 assists 9 rebounds and 1 steal per game.

[P2K]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...t=Kevin+Durant

[Tony4MVP]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

He will be great but I expect LeBron to just hit his prime in about 5 years.

[capp34]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

All he can do is score its plenty of players like that. When he starts grabbing boards and playing defense then he would be considered.

[Orangeman20]

But the whole point is that he is improving steadily every year. this includes his defense especially because i have never seen him play defense better than he has this year.

[jnofx]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

I'd like to see him bulk up between now and then, but he is already great. But in 5 years, Lebron will still be dominating, IMO

[Bornindamecca]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

I'd like to see him bulk up between now and then, but he is already great. But in 5 years, Lebron will still be dominating, IMO

Lebron isn't dominating now. I made that point in a blog post a while back. No one cares about scoring titles and MVPs. It's about getting to the Finals and winning championships. If you get to the Finals, you dominated your conference, and if you get the ring you dominated the whole league. Otherwise, you just put up great numbers.

The main thing thing people have to realize about Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Kobe, Shaq and Tim Duncan is that they have dominated whole decades. We're talking about spans of 6 to 10 years where these guys were ALWAYS in the Finals or getting a champaign shower. That means no soup for anyone else. I think people lose sight of just how dominant that really is.

Lebron may dominate in the coming years, but the challenge before him is a league where he is not head and shoulders above the other talent. There are other players that are in or near his class, and after that there are several players behind him.

Sure, Lebron is great, but what if Brandon Roy joins Dwight Howard? What if Chris Paul hooks up with KD? What if Deron were to go to Atlanta right now?

Not saying he can't dominate. Just saying that it's a big leap to treat it as a foregone conclusion. If Lebron is able to keep Durant, Melo, CP3, Dwight, Roy, Wade and the rest from winning for the next 6 to 8 years, that will truly be an amazing feat.

[HMcCoy]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

Lebron isn't dominating now. I made that point in a blog post a while back. No one cares about scoring titles and MVPs. It's about getting to the Finals and winning championships. If you get to the Finals, you dominated your conference, and if you get the ring you dominated the whole league. Otherwise, you just put up great numbers.

The main thing thing people have to realize about Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Kobe, Shaq and Tim Duncan is that they have dominated whole decades. We're talking about spans of 6 to 10 years where these guys were ALWAYS in the Finals or getting a champaign shower. That means no soup for anyone else. I think people lose sight of just how dominant that really is.

Lebron may dominate in the coming years, but the challenge before him is a league where he is not head and shoulders above the other talent. There are other players that are in or near his class, and after that there are several players behind him.

Sure, Lebron is great, but what if Brandon Roy joins Dwight Howard? What if Chris Paul hooks up with KD? What if Deron were to go to Atlanta right now?

Not saying he can't dominate. Just saying that it's a big leap to treat it as a foregone conclusion. If Lebron is able to keep Durant, Melo, CP3, Dwight, Roy, Wade and the rest from winning for the next 6 to 8 years, that will truly be an amazing feat.

Team sucess =/= individual success.

Has Durant been one of the worst players in the league over the last two years? His team success says yes he has been. I don't agree with that logic.

"What if" Dwight joins LeBron? "What if" Magic had been drafted by the mid 80's Mavs? "What if" the Spurs didn't tank that season to get Timmay? "What if" Jerry Krause didn't build a team capable of 50 wins and deep playoff pushes without MJ? MJ stiill would have took a decade long poop on the league. Malone wasn't a dominant PF? Better yet, How dominant was Kobe during the "no all-NBA bigman to help me" years? Guess he was just "good" back then...dropping 81 wasn't dominant...they didn't win the chip! LMAO.

Bron is dominant right now. As is Kobe. As is Howard. As is Wade. As is CP3. You cannot stop them from doing whatever they want on the court. Thats dominantion. To attach that to a given teams GM'ing skills is ludicrous. Those guys you mentioned all played on great teams, and not one of them won a chip without a fellow HOF in their prime to help them.

If Bron isn't dominant without a chip then KD is a straight up scrub, cause his league W% is attrocious. It never ceases to amazes me how one criteria, in this case winning, fits one player, but not the next.

I cannot wait til Bron can shove the *last* argument down throats.

[HMcCoy]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

Back on topic...

Ive watched Thor pretty closely this year, and everyone knows the boy is flat out special. Love his humility and demeanor, and his skillset is bonkers. I think when he gets away from the "Bron/Melo" style game and gets more into the Dirk steez, he'll be the next best thing. At his size he doesn't need to rush or try to play up to the superstar perimeter player mold. Too many turnovers trying to dribble in traffic or make plays...doesn't "see" the floor yet. But once he does, he could redefine some things.

[Bornindamecca]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

I forgot you were head of the Bron Protection Agency. Responses in bold.

Team sucess =/= individual success.

Has Durant been one of the worst players in the league over the last two years? His team success says yes he has been. I don't agree with that logic.This idea comes from a conclusion you drew up yourself. I never said that team success determines the quality of player you are individually. I said that team success determines whether or not you're dominating the league. Dominating means winning. If we didn't have examples of that kind of domination, I could see where you are coming from, but as it is the mark of elite greatness(you know, a step above simple individual ability) is championships. This is not simply my point, but a point that Kobe and Shaq(among others) have made several times over the past few years.

"What if" Dwight joins LeBron?Then he has a pretty great chance to dominate the league. Better yet, How dominant was Kobe during the "no all-NBA bigman to help me" years? Guess he was just "good" back then...dropping 81 wasn't dominant...they didn't win the chip! LMAO. Kobe has addressed this himself. I'll paraphrase: "MVPs don't matter to me. There are a few years where people say I should have won it or whatever, but that doesn't matter to me. My peers think I'm a great player, and that's nice, but that's not what I'm after. For me the goal is to elevate a group to the championship level."

Bron is dominant right now.Individually he is a dominant player, but he's not dominating the league. The people with the hardware are. Everyone else is trying to get there. As is Kobe. Kobe's name is already chiseled into the holy tablets of NBA history. The rest of his career is a journey from legend, to possibly an elite legend. As is Howard. As is Wade. As is CP3. You cannot stop them from doing whatever they want on the court. Thats dominantion. To attach that to a given teams GM'ing skills is ludicrous. Those guys you mentioned all played on great teams, and not one of them won a chip without a fellow HOF in their prime to help them. Fair or not, opportunity is a part of greatness. Opportunity is very important though. When given the opportunity, the stakes are higher and we get a chance to see a player take hte most important step, the final step, towards greatness. The people who have taken that step and those who haven't are simply in different classes.

If Bron isn't dominant without a chip then KD is a straight up scrub, cause his league W% is attrocious. It never ceases to amazes me how one criteria, in this case winning, fits one player, but not the next. They are both judged by this criteria. Kevin has to continue to learn how to win in the league to get to Bron's level of success, same way Bron is hoping to get to Kobe's level of success. And the thing is, these guys talk about it all the time, especially after they have been in the playoffs a lot. Jordan talked about the change in himself between losing to Boston and Detroit, and then later going on to beat them. Look at the changes Kobe and Pau made after losing to Boston. And we're watching Bron in mid stream, make those same changes. You don't have to like it, but there is no denying that players evolve during the trial by fire htat is winning the first round, then the second, then the CFs and then the Finals. If Kevin wins a championship, you can bet that he'll be a different, more evolved KD than he is right now. And I do believe that if and when Lebron wins his first one, he'll be the best Lebron we'll have seen yet. I don't believe he'll be the same Lebron, but simply with a better team.

The change from contender to champion is a very special one in the NBA. Don't pretend it's not there simply because Lebron hasn't gotten his ring yet. I know it hurts, because you're a big fan, and his critics use that against him, but never in sports history have we judged an individual without championships the same way we judge those who have won. Especially not in basketball, where individuals mean so much to a team. This is not unique to Lebron. Just ask 'Nique, Chuck, Pat, Karl, Stockton and many others. Then on the next level, we judge those with multiple championships differently than those with one.

I cannot wait til Bron can shove the *last* argument down throats. LoL, not my throat. I'd be shocked if Lebron retired without a ring. Mildly surprised if not more than one.

Back on topic...

Ive watched Thor pretty closely this year, and everyone knows the boy is flat out special. Love his humility and demeanor, and his skillset is bonkers. I think when he gets away from the "Bron/Melo" style game and gets more into the Dirk steez, he'll be the next best thing. Kevin has had a very strong tendency close to the rim on both sides of the floor. He has the mind and instincts to be a very good rebounder, shot blocker, and finisher at the rim. His body, his team and his IQ are catching up with this. I think it's harder for him(and people watching him) to evaluate when he should be inside/outside because of his exceptional shooting touch. When he figures it out, I think it will be a balance very unique to him. He'll be a new prototype, but he still has a lot of learning to do in this regard.At his size he doesn't need to rush or try to play up to the superstar perimeter player mold. Too many turnovers trying to dribble in traffic or make plays...doesn't "see" the floor yet. But once he does, he could redefine some things.I think having a whole team that is very young also influences this. They are learning together, so the errors shift around. Love watching these guys figure it out though.

[KG]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

I was knocking KD like crazy before the season on the whole "team success" argument but 15-14 right now w/ 2 close losses to LAL has me impressed. Now, the team's increase in W's isn't solely because of KD, but 27, 7, 3 1.5stls and ~1blk per is balling. Obviously he has to has to improve in certain areas like defense and cutting down TO's but it's impressive to see what he's doing on a team who's trying to figure out life in the NBA.

[DirtyJerz32]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

I give him 2 years and we'll be talking about him like we did when Kobe was a rook.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

Don't take offense to this at all B, but if you're going to seriously or jokingly keep addressing HM as head of the Bron Protection Agency I'm going to have to address you as the head of the KD Protection Agency

Every time anything remotely negative is posted about KD you can be sure someone will be there within 5 posts

Anyway, judging off skill set alone, KD will not be "the next best thing in 5 years".

LBJ is dominating the league, now. Has been for years. He's already gotten his D-League squad to the Finals, albeit in a terrible conference that year.

KD isn't even close to the same level as LBJ is now.

In 5 years it's not inconceivable to think LBJ will improve his J and his post game.. while maintaining his other natural gifts [court vision, athleticism, and defense] that separate him from KD now.

Anyway I don't know why another thread was created about Durant when there's at least 3 that I can think of with a million pages.

[Bornindamecca]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

Don't take offense to this at all B, but if you're going to seriously or jokingly keep addressing HM as head of the Bron Protection Agency I'm going to have to address you as the head of the KD Protection Agency

No offense taken, but allow me to retort.

I enjoy Durant. I like his approach, and his execution of that approach. However, I'm forthcoming about the flaws in his game. Even in this thread, I've said "Durant needs to learn to win". I speak about Durant in the context of an unfinished product that I find to be exciting in the unfinished stages, but if people want to talk about his flaws, I'm more than down to do that.

And I don't know if people are misreading me or what, but I never said that Durant is as good as Lebron, or even close. The only element to Durant's game that has spread beyond himself is his rebounding. Lebron has passing, shot blocking, steals and rebounding, besides overall leadership.

[sportyguyfl31]

Re: is kevin durant the next best thing in 5 yrs

Durant is a turbo charged 'Melo before 'Melo began to round out his game.

Pure, Raw, Lights Out Scorer.

Dominique Wilkins, basically.