2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

I can't fault them for excluding Allen from any reunions. That group was obviously close so for Allen to leave the way he did without so much as a heads up opens him up to what has followed. KD was trashed for the way he left OKC, why should Allen leaving the way he did be treated any different?



I like to think in time everyone excluding Rondo will eventually squash this and open communication again. But for that to happen Allen is going to have to be the one to reach out and rightfully so.

KD did catch some slack from people for texting Westbrook his decision to leave when people(myself included)thought he could've at least called him or told him this face to face. That was the only legit "backlash" he caught and I'm guessing that's what this is with these guys.

Not that he owed it to him or anyone, but I felt that if y'all were damn near brothers for 8 years, could've done better than a text.

Speaking of which and I'm surprised nobody mentioned this but KD and Russ are back on good terms, according to PerkGod

I think the night that Russ actually broke the record, I had texted KD the next day, and he was talking about something. He sent me a text and was like, 'hey man, me and Russ had a nice conversation yesterday.' The media don't even know nothing about it. But I just let it be known that they back on talking terms, you know what I mean.

Glad to hear that. They were too tight to not speak with each other for so long.

[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

KD did catch some slack from people for texting Westbrook his decision to leave when people(myself included)thought he could've at least called him or told him this face to face. That was the only legit "backlash" he caught and I'm guessing that's what this is with these guys.

Not that he owed it to him or anyone, but I felt that if y'all were damn near brothers for 8 years, could've done better than a text.

Speaking of which and I'm surprised nobody mentioned this but KD and Russ are back on good terms, according to PerkGod



Glad to hear that. They were too tight to not speak with each other for so long.

Thing is KD told Russ he was probably going to leave at the dinner they had the night before.

Thats why Russ was all "i can change" but it didn't matter at that point.

[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Man it's crazy y'all are talking about this high school drama like it's a soap opera. Ray Allen is probably chilling on his couch with his feet up, eating popcorn and laughing at these dudes.

He needs to come to them? For what exactly? He made a (successful) business decision and they're all in their feelings long after any of them are lacing it up anymore (besides Rondo, but he's just crazy anyway).

Maybe it's because Peirce only played for the C's. Garnett spent his entire career in Minnesota before the trade at the end of his career. I wouldn't call Allen disloyal but he is the only one who bounced around the league a bit before getting to Boston. Looking for and taking another offer was just part of the business to him that the others probably can't even comprehend.

Throw him shade when the Heat play the Celtics, sure. But this whole reunion and he's gotta reach out crap... nah, ya'll need to grow up.

I dont think Ray cares. Thats just me though.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Thing is KD told Russ he was probably going to leave at the dinner they had the night before.

Thats why Russ was all "i can change" but it didn't matter at that point.

And Russ said all he got was a text and found out like the rest of us did.

Truth is somewhere in the middle that only those 2 will ever know.

[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

And Russ said all he got was a text and found out like the rest of us did.

Truth is somewhere in the middle that only those 2 will ever know.

I doubt he was blind to the fact dude was leaving when he talked to him the night before.

If thats the case then you got it brutha... i just dont believe that.

Anyway durant leaving is nothing like ray allen anyway, I'm not even sure why he made that comparison.

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[The 24th Letter]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

And Russ said all he got was a text and found out like the rest of us did.

Truth is somewhere in the middle that only those 2 will ever know.

I definitely beleive it.

I think that's why he hid in the house and turned his phone off the next day....probably not an easy thing to do. ...

[King_B_Mack]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Man it's crazy y'all are talking about this high school drama like it's a soap opera. Ray Allen is probably chilling on his couch with his feet up, eating popcorn and laughing at these dudes.



He needs to come to them? For what exactly? He made a (successful) business decision and they're all in their feelings long after any of them are lacing it up anymore (besides Rondo, but he's just crazy anyway).



Maybe it's because Peirce only played for the C's. Garnett spent his entire career in Minnesota before the trade at the end of his career. I wouldn't call Allen disloyal but he is the only one who bounced around the league a bit before getting to Boston. Looking for and taking another offer was just part of the business to him that the others probably can't even comprehend.



Throw him shade when the Heat play the Celtics, sure. But this whole reunion and he's gotta reach out crap... nah, ya'll need to grow up.

Apparently he's not though idk.

http://uproxx.com/dimemag/ray-allen-celtics-kevin-garnett-rajon-rondo-facebook/

Anyway why you coming at me? Ray doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do. He can enjoy his two rings as he's been doing. I was saying if they were all going to bury the thing and wanted to move on past it, he needed to be the one to make the phone call as they've put it out there now that they're open to burying this and I understand where they're coming from with that. If Ray saw that and still doesn't want to talk to them then oh well I wouldn't lose any sleep about it.

I don't need to grow anything. That's life, people come and go all the time. If all of them moved on with their life without Ray and him without them then who are you to suggest that they or anybody else needs to 'grow up' because they cut somebody out of their life that clearly didn't have a place there any more?How you gonna sit here on the Internet and tell me I need to grow up over some mess that don't involve any of us.


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[areobee401]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Durant didn't leave like anything just a free agent

If these dudes don't want to talk Anymore oh well lol

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I'm speaking to how KD left, not where he ended up going to. The guys last night alluded to feeling hurt Allen decided to joins the Heat without so much as a telephone call. Same as KD shooting Westbrook a text when joining GSW was a weak move in my opinion. Last night showed how close the group was and I can't fault them for what the situation is now. Adding the fact Allen still has yet to reach out to anyone only helps their case.

I don't know, end of the day, if Paul doesn't want Ray there I'm ok with that. Paul will forever be more of a Celtic than Ray ever was so I'm gonna ride with him on this one, because to be completely honest, I never had any emotional connection to Ray when he was here so it's one big whatever for me.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

I doubt he was blind to the fact dude was leaving when he talked to him the night before.

If thats the case then you got it brutha... i just dont believe that.

Anyway durant leaving is nothing like ray allen anyway, I'm not even sure why he made that comparison.

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Didn't say I believed it, I'm going by what he said just like you are. It's all he said/she said. Could care less who's lying and who isn't a year later.

[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Didn't say I believed it, I'm going by what he said just like you are. It's all he said/she said. Could care less who's lying and who isn't a year later.

Actually what i mentioned was from an article, can't remember if it was SI or not.

Anyway like i said you got it. It was moreso about how bogus the comparison was to ray allen than to go back and forth on that again.

Situation is not even the same.

[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

I'm speaking to how KD left, not where he ended up going to. The guys last night alluded to feeling hurt Allen decided to joins the Heat without so much as a telephone call. Same as KD shooting Westbrook a text when joining GSW was a weak move in my opinion. Last night showed how close the group was and I can't fault them for what the situation is now. Adding the fact Allen still has yet to reach out to anyone only helps their case.

I don't know, end of the day, if Paul doesn't want Ray there I'm ok with that. Paul will forever be more of a Celtic than Ray ever was so I'm gonna ride with him on this one, because to be completely honest, I never had any emotional connection to Ray when he was here so it's one big whatever for me.

If ray allen is their brother then why are they in public acting like that towards him?

Sounds like a crappy brotherhood to me.

Rondo said nothing so you know he hates Allens guts and is the primary reason for the rift.

If you really want to make ammends with someone you dont have to wait on them. KG didnt even send him an invite. They sounded petty IMO

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[areobee401]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

If ray allen is their brother then why are they in public acting like that towards him?

Sounds like a crappy brotherhood to me.

Rondo said nothing so you know he hates Allens guts and is the primary reason for the rift.

If you really want to make ammends with someone you dont have to wait on them. KG didnt even send him an invite. They sounded petty IMO

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How is that petty?

Ok, so let's say in my professional life I have a close working relationship with a coworker. We work hand and hand on projects together and see great success. That leads to a friendship away from the workplace, which sees our families spending time together and the whole speal. Then one day I learn he or she has left the company to join one of our greatest competitors. No phone call after he or she make the decision the move was what's best for him or her professionally and for his or her family. Yeah, I'm gonna hold a grudge. Not only because I'd feel slighted, but because that type of move would show me the friendship was never really what it was believed to be.

So if those guys feel Ray reaching out first is what needs to be done, than that's what it is. It's not for us to judge.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Actually what i mentioned was from an article, can't remember if it was SI or not.

Anyway like i said you got it.

Only articles I could find talking about what you mentioned:

Spoiler

“Nah, it wasn't (a factor in him leaving),” Durant said. “I mean obviously (that alleged subplot is) coming out now (that) I'm gone, all these reports are going to come out. I can't really control it, but I just made a decision based on where I wanted to go, man. It was as simple as that. We can think about all the reasons and the factors and what factored in, but it was simple. That's where I wanted to play basketball.”

Kevin Durant says Russell Westbrook 'respected' decision to leave Thunder
When asked if he had spoken to Westbrook recently after their initial discussion in which Durant shared the news, he said, “No, not really. Not really. Not in depth. But I'm sure that will happen at some point.”

The more revealing part came shortly thereafter, when Durant claimed that he never discussed Westbrook’s uncertain future as part of his decision-making process.

Because Westbrook is a free agent next summer, the widely-held belief was that Durant would want to know whether or not his running mate was likely to remain before picking his team. Alas …

“No, we didn't talk about (Westbrook’s free agency future),” said Durant, who had gone to dinner with Westbrook and Thunder forward Nick Collison in the days leading up to free agency. “I mean we didn't really talk about anything at all. I wish him nothing but the best, man.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/07/18/kevin-durant-nba-free-agency-thunder-warriors-russell-westbrook/87275316/

But some of the criticism through this whole thing is that, after all those years together, you just sent him a text message when you left.

Durant: “Yeah, you know, I understand that. I understand that. That’s something me and him will talk about. I’m not saying I’m right. I’m not saying I did it the right way. I’m owning up to that. We’re not going to go through this in the media though. I’m not going to say I should’ve did this, should’ve did that. We’ll figure our differences out as men 1-on-1. He’s doing his job right now and he’s doing a helluva job. And I’m doing my job. Of course we’re not going to talk every day. But like I said, I don’t care what y’all say, fans in OKC, media, whoever. We’re going through a tough time right now in our relationship. But we’re brothers at the end of the day. When I say that, where I come from, I mean it. You know what I’m saying? Every time I got into it with the media (during my Thunder days) or whoever, it was never over me. It was always over someone I was riding with, my teammates or my coach. So that should tell you enough.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/01/kevin-durant-unfiltered-on-the-state-of-his-relationship-with-russell-westbrook/

The Thunder Have The Meets

In the last week of June, with the free agency signing period looming, Durant meets Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison and assistant coach Royal Ivey at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood. Over steaks, Westbrook, in an effort to lobby Durant to stay in Oklahoma City, asks Durant what he could do differently. The Thunder contingent leaves the restaurant that night with the impression that Durant will return.

Saddest. Holiday. Inn. Ever.
On Sunday, July 3, more than half a dozen Thunder brass opt to stay close by just in case Durant wants to talk again, and they try and book a room in East Hampton. But with no place to stay during the July Fourth weekend, the members of the group, including owner Clay Bennett, GM Sam Presti and coach Billy Donovan, squeeze into a circular booth at TGI Fridays for a late-night dinner before sharing rooms at a distant Holiday Inn Express. Little do they know it, but by then Durant is laser focused on the Warriors.

Durant sets up a three-way call with Golden State owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers; he's fixated on learning how the Warriors will shield him from criticism should he decide to join them. At one point in the call, when Durant says "when I come," Lacob freaks out, thinking Durant just tipped his hand. Meanwhile, fearing the worst, the Thunder wait at the Holiday Inn Express for a call. The next morning, Durant calls to inform them of his departure, mere minutes before he announces his decision to join the Warriors. His loyalty to OKC, in the end, would only go so far.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/18376747/how-kevin-durant-landed-bay

Lemme know or PM me the article you're talking about if these aren't it.

[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

How is that petty?

Very petty. I'm not in the mood for TLDR mode right now but the only real one there was rondo because he wasn't acting like he cared that Ray was there at all.



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[23]

Re: 2017 Western Conference Playoffs - 2nd Round Discussion Thread

Pack nah thats not it. Sorry its been awhile but didn't have the KD interview in it.

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