Bernstein: LeBron Experience Informs Opinion Of Durant
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) This was a decision by Kevin Durant that we're discussing, and it matters that it wasn't The Decision. The capitals make a difference.
We were taken aback by LeBron James's crass departure from Cleveland and his vainglorious arrival in Miami in 2010. Bad optics weren't helped by any carefully chosen words, creating a storm of negative public relations as the Heat rolled out the first handpicked super-team. We pilloried James for taking the easy way out, joining them instead of beating them, and appearing to let Dwyane Wade be the alpha dog in the middle of each photo op.
But that's not how it played out. Unintended consequences are funny that way.
In eventually winning back-to-back NBA titles and making four straight Finals appearances, James was the centerpiece whether he planned to be or not. He was the engine who powered the machine, in this case both that of the Heat and the league. The polarized feelings about him made for compelling theater at every turn, providing subjects for enough embraced debate to fill airwaves and timelines.
In a way, the Miami years and the return to Cleveland were James' greatest act of facilitation, in that all of those eyes on televisions allowed for Durant to have the opportunity to bolt for Golden State, as he did Monday in agreeing to a two-year deal with the Warriors. That nine-year, $24-billion network commitment agreed upon two years ago was in large part due to the LeBronization of the NBA – the intensity of opinion one way or the other and all of the attention driving record ratings. James made it rain, and the salary cap swelled.
Durant to the Warriors is the latest reminder that chasing parity in professional basketball is a joke, with the actual economics to this point arguing more for supply-side, trickle-down voodoo than anything else. This sport has always seen only a handful of teams in true contention at the start of a given season, those boasting at least one generational talent. It's the least democratic of our major games, with the fewest players involved and the most occasion for the best of them to control the action.
The NBA may have thought it wanted more competitive balance when negotiating the last collective bargaining agreement, but that has always been a pipe dream. The teams of significance have either recruited at least one of the top players on the planet or lucked into one via the draft. Fans whining about parity are those tied to a franchise without a true star.
And just as James was ultimately burdened with primary responsibility regardless of his intention, Durant too will be tested in ways we have yet to envision as he chases a championship. We have to know that by now, just as we can picture a return to Oklahoma City as a similarly prodigal son.
He will have to matter in new and different ways as he adapts to an unfamiliar – if enticing – basketball culture. The Warriors' "no stars" mantra will be tested, obviously, because it's just simply not true at this point. Their once-whimsical gestalt will be newly redefined and reshaped, and nobody knows how, exactly. All that's certain is that we want it to end up against the Cavaliers again in a best-of-seven series in June.
More TV drama, more viewers, more attention and more money.
Durant's move is more of the rich getting richer, for a team and the NBA. We have seen this before, and it works.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
