Charles Barkley: 'Kevin Durant Is Trying To Cheat His Way To A Championship'
By Rahul Lal
"When you all get together and say 'let's dominate this league' and try to cheat your way to a championship...don't you want to compete?"
This is what NBA Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley had to say on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike on Wednesday about the Warriors' blockbuster acquisition of former MVP Kevin Durant.
"I was disappointed. I was disappointed like I was disappointed when LeBron went to Miami," said the NBA analyst. "Kevin is a terrific player, he's a good kid...just disappointed from a competitive standpoint."
A popular topic of conversation has been the comparison of Durant's switch to Lebron James' move in 2010 from Cleveland to Miami to construct a 'super team' along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
"Just like it meant more to LeBron to win one in Cleveland, it would mean more to Kevin to win one more in Oklahoma than it would be in Golden State," expanded Barkley. "I have no problem with a guy at the end of his career [doing this]...we're talking about a guy who's 27 years old who has led the league in scoring four out of the last five years who is a former MVP."
Barkley famously never won a championship of his own and joined the Houston Rockets just after their brief championship run in the mid-90s. He has made his opinion very clear in past years about players transitioning onto these super teams and expressed that he thinks moves like this will "kill the NBA."
Durant is set to join back-to-back league MVP Stephen Curry in Golden State to create one of the anticipated duos in NBA history. What is being referred to as the 'death squad' will be completed by all-stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Former Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala, will be accompanied by recent acquisitions David West and Zaza Pachulia who both took contracts below market value to play for a championship in Oakland.
Rahul Lal is an LA native stuck in a lifelong, love-hate relationship with the Lakers, Dodgers and Raiders. You can follow him on Twitter here.