I read two articles online but I couldn't find much on this. One article suggested Kawhi was "hiding" from the Spurs, when he was medically cleared but looking for a second and third option because of lingering pain, is this what you mean?
He basically went MIA in his last season at Spurs saying he's injured upon advise from his personal medical team and refused to acknowledge the Spurs request for him to report to their medical team. Avoided contact with the coaching staff and his teammates because the Spurs medical team 'misdiagnosed' him when they said he's fit to play but needed proper management which the Spurs are well known for. His uncle talked a lot of shit about the Spurs as well during that period.
Entitled jerk. Just cause he's got money and (to be fair) a great player he thinks he can behave like an asshole to everyone around him.
Yeah, isn't there a story about him being continuously late for flights and training due to the fact that he lives in San Diego? As a wise man once said, leave home earlier, don't make everyone wait for you.
It's funny but if I dislike a player its mostly for their off court actions. Lebron seems to want to get involved in stuff that he really knows nothing about. He tries to give this impression of being an erudite man of the people when sometimes he should just "shut up and dribble," He's also a massive diva both on and off the court. KD is just an arse. He's the most sensitive sportsman I've ever come across. You're a great player - we know. You don't have to argue the toss with every Tom, Dick and Harry about it on social media. Just shut the feck up. Kawhi, we've been over. It's not until we get to James Harden that I dislike a player for his on court actions. The grabbing, flopping and complaining gets old. Not sure where to put Kyrie Irving, he's annoying both on and off the court. Let's just say he's a twat and leave it at that.
KD says he enjoys it and this is just him. He can't hold his tongue and sees no reason to. I quite like that about basketball players and American athletes that they engage with fans. Shannon Sharp and Dame do it too.
I mean KD is just being real, as long as he doesn't use his multiple burner accounts, it's all good.
I’ve struggled with injuries myself, so I can understand not wanting to play through pain even if the injury appears to be healed. Only Leonard knows if that was bs or not. I saw David Robinson criticizing anyone who didn’t want to stick around with the club and help rebuild, but I can’t agree. Teams don’t sign up players for being loyal, you have to be able to bring wins, and I don’t feel like any US player owes their team anything, maybe it’s different with football academies.
I can put up with the banter back and forth but it really starts to grate on me when Durant uses social media as a forum to clap back at fans in order to tell them how great he is. That I can do without.
But he is though and he has a chip on his shoulder so its expected. Hoopers are allowed to be more upfront and aggressive than footballers and I like it
But there are a lot of great players out there. I don't hear from them every five minutes. To me it's annoying, to other people maybe its a plus. I don't like it and it definitely colors my opinion of Durant.
Thats because he is super great and still gets criticism and hate. If you have all time great talent and people aren't simply worshipping you it would get annoying. Its like "what more do you want from me?
All the great players get hate. KD is one of the most insecure people about it.
Nah people take the piss and Warriors fans be saying Steph is better than him. Fans say Lebron and now Giannis so he is rarely given the title as number one player despite probably being so for years. He also never mentioned in all time great conversations. People calling him weak for moving yet Lebron moves teams the most, as soon as it becomes difficult for him and he just builds a new team
Welcome to planet earth. There will always be people hating.
He never got the title in OKC because he just flat out wasn't as good as LeBron. He never got the title in Golden State because he was playing with three other all-stars and even still you could make the case LeBron was better. He has started getting buzz as the best player after his playoff series last season (deservedly so, too). I think I would have him as the best player now. He wasn't before this.
Spurs were forced to rebuild because Kawhi wanted out.
Being better is subjective. The Warriors certainly had a better record when Durant missed games vs when Steph missed games. I argued at the time, and will still argue that Steph was more important to the Dubs than KD because their style of play was best suited to play to Steph's strengths and it showed in the results.
Yeah, LeBron never gets any hate.
SAS is playing a character. He’s much better when he’s not on his shows or promoting it.
It's all about triggering emotions, not about analysis, not unlike the rest of the news.
Agreed. I don't think it's all about playing a character with Steven A Smith, either. He's a bombastic, arrogant hack who repeatedly feels the need to tell everyone how much he knows about basketball, citing his resume. A man like that wouldn't intentionally mess up on his NBA finals predictions 6 years in a row (1/64 probability) because he ended up being ridiculed and looking silly; it a genuine cluelessness when it comes to basketball.
They all are, ESPN is a variety show disguised as sports news. They plan their "debates", they rehearse their microwaved hot takes and they do it all to maximize clicks and clout. Nobody can tell me that Kellerman, SAS or Douchebag King Skip Bayless believe even 50% of what they say.
I think The Jump is a really good show compared to anything else that they have on ESPN or even Fox. Not that they're perfect but it's better than the others and they have good and fun panels usually.
Yea I've boycotted First Take for a new months now. The Jump (unless Kendrick Perkins is on) and Jalen and Jacoby (only Jalen, not Jacoby) are the only shows worth watching.
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As a Mavs fan: feck Rondo!
Who would you have as worse than him?
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