Shannon Sharpe seems to belong to the camp that argues that Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors saved Kevin Durant’s legacy. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas is on the other side, crediting the Suns forward for helping the legacies of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. On ‘Nightcap’, Sharpe and Arenas debated KD’s legacy and the role of the Warriors in enhancing it.
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Before starting the discussion, the tape rolled to when Isaiah Thomas spoke to Draymond Green on his ‘The Volume’ pod. Thomas said that without Durant, the Warriors’ dynasty would be different. For him, KD “cemented” Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson as Hall of Famers. However, as soon as the show cut to Sharpe, he contradicted Thomas,
“But that part that he left out, it also saved KD’s legacy. If he don’t get no championships, we are not looking at him the same.”
Arenas also countered the statement, stating Green’s acceptance that the Dubs wouldn’t have beaten the Cavs in back-to-back finals without Kevin Durant, before alluding to the disrespect towards Durant “in the media world”. In Arenas’ opinion, Durant sacrificed his legacy for Steph, Klay, and Green. As per him, KD was overlooked because of the media narrative, despite two straight Finals MVPs.
“Yeah, it gave him two championships, two Finals MVPs but no one respected him in the media world while that same move cemented three players in the Hall of Fame,” Arenas retorted.
This argument resonated with Unc Sharpe. He agreed that “fans are still mad at KD” because he joined the Warriors. However, according to him, the Warriors franchise doesn’t receive flak for putting together a super team.
He cited the example of the Lakers which had multiple MVP-level players like Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also added the Celtics example, with Hall-of-farmers like Bill Walton and Dennis Johnson joining Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.
Thus, for Sharpe, the 2017 Finals MVP shouldn’t be resented for joining a winning system as various past greats did. As for the Warriors, they desperately wanted the scoring machine to overturn their fortunes.
Draymond Green admitted to recruiting Kevin Durant
After Kevin Durant and his Thunder lost the 2016 WCF, Draymond Green had a chat with him with fans speculating that the 2017 DPOY was recruiting the Slim Reaper. In 2022, during a ‘The Old Man and The Three’ pod appearance with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, Green admitted to the same.
However, for him, the planning goes way back to the 2015 offseason. He relayed that he had Durant on face-time after losing the memorable 2016 finals Game 7. He also disclosed how his five-year, $82 million deal from 2015 helped him to land the superstar,
“When I signed my first $82 million contract, I took less than what I could have gotten so that we could pay Kevin the max the following year. Like I was already looking ahead, like ‘hey we could possibly get Kevin Durant.“
Therefore, KD was already in the plans for Green and the Warriors, a year before he came to the Warriors. All the parties needed each other to forge a winning chapter. While it did culminate into two rings and three straight final appearances, it also led to vehement debates.
