Being a diehard Cavaliers fan, it was very difficult to watch the NBA Finals and see my team dismantled by an incredibly talented and quite simply, better Warriors team. However, as a fan of the NBA, I am struggling with the backlash against Kevin Durant for jumping ship to join Golden State this year. As a Recruiter and Career Advocate for the past 20 years, I have a news flash for everyone who has ever had a job: YOU WOULD HAVE MADE THE EXACT SAME MOVE.
Let’s think about this. Why does anyone change positions? OPPORTUNITY (if you said money, you can stop reading now). It is in our nature to position ourselves for the best possible opportunity. Why wouldn’t KD do that? Why is he being villainized for making a logical career decision? The Warriors had a strong value proposition that the incumbent Thunder lacked: the pieces to win a championship immediately.
The Warriors were lacking an additional scorer who could spread the floor, hit 3’s, and open spacing in the middle of the floor for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. I don’t know about you but if someone is selling me on an opportunity to be a key contributor to a Championship caliber team, I am all ears. Some say KD took the easy way out. I say KD put himself in a position to bring value and when opportunity knocked, he answered. No one should be criticized for that.