00:00But we like to talk about legacies a lot on this show.
00:03And I was just thinking, let me start with Kevin Durant.
00:05Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest, I think, offensive basketball players we have ever seen.
00:11There's nothing that Kevin Durant cannot do or has not done.
00:14Two-time champ, two-time finals MVP.
00:17I know he went to a loaded team already, but I don't care.
00:20The guys, and he sure stayed in Golden State, which is a topic for another day.
00:24That was an ego thing.
00:25We've now gone, I think it's seven straight years now, where Kevin Durant hasn't gotten past the second round of
00:32the postseason.
00:33And while this year can't be blamed on him, I think he's played one game thus far here in the
00:39first round.
00:39Had 23 points, by the way, in that game.
00:41But he's got some kind of bone bruise, which is 24-hour round-the-clock care.
00:48But you played in game two, right?
00:51Haven't played in any other game in this series.
00:53You didn't even show up to the last game, which I don't quite understand why Kevin Durant can't be there
01:00to support his guys,
01:01other than wherever he's getting these specialized treatment for the bone bruise, you know, precludes it from being at the
01:07game.
01:07But at some point, I do think legacy comes into play for Kevin Durant.
01:13Now, I want to be clear about my take on it.
01:15But Kevin Durant is a first-bound Hall of Famer, and I think will go down as one of the
01:2120 greatest basketball players to ever play NBA basketball.
01:25You can decide where you want to put him.
01:27I know it's hard to compare eras, but no matter how you compare it, Kevin Durant is a top-20
01:32all-time NBA basketball player.
01:36And fifth all-time in scoring.
01:37Yeah, look, he's one of the great guys, one of the great players of all time.
01:40And I don't think these last seven years should diminish that.
01:43But they do exist.
01:46And by all accounts, Kevin Durant is not going to be a rocket next year.
01:51He's going to go on to his sixth team in the NBA, which means he's now, by definition, a journeyman
01:58also, right?
01:59Oklahoma City, Golden State, you go to Brooklyn, you go to Phoenix, you go to Houston, and by all accounts,
02:09he'll be on his sixth new team next year.
02:12What do we do with Kevin Durant?
02:14Seven consecutive years without getting past the second round in the postseason.
02:21Can't always be everybody else's fault, and I think his legacy takes a hit.
02:26And playing at the same time as LeBron James because of the crossover and the same position, if we're being
02:33fair, when you lay out his resume, he's at best the second-best wing of his era.
02:39And that's not a bad place to be, by the way.
02:41Not a bad place to be at all.
02:42But it kind of makes you look at it differently.
02:45Like, his longevity probably puts him above, let's say, Larry Bird.
02:50If you look at the all-time three men, LeBron, Bird was thought by many to be maybe the second
02:55-best ever.
02:55Yeah, Kevin Durant's also seven feet tall, Bird wasn't, obviously.
02:58He was, he does different things.
03:00He's more successful than Carmelo, so he's ahead of those type of guys.
03:03Can you take out your rankings for a sec?
03:05I just want your emotional reaction.
03:08Kevin Durant, look, if he comes back and the Rockets blew the Lakers out, the Lakers seemed like they were
03:13disinterested in closing that series out,
03:15which is mind-boggling because if Durant comes back, I know that the Lakers are up three to one.
03:21That series changes much like the Nuggets series changes.
03:24Now, I still think that the Lakers would be good enough to get one win, but not guaranteed.
03:30And last night, I know I'm going off on a tangent here, I apologize.
03:33The Lakers showed zero interest in closing that series out.
03:38LeBron had 10 points last night, played 30 minutes, but collectively, the Lakers no-showed in that game against the
03:46Rockets
03:46with a chance to put it to bed and get a bunch of rest before the next series.
03:51But I want to focus on Durant.
03:53I do believe Durant is hurt, obviously.
03:56Durant's not going to sit out a playoff game unless he's legitimately injured and he's got a bone bruise,
04:01and they're desperately trying to get him back for game five now, right?
04:05Yeah.
04:05But I think if he goes to a sixth team and, again, does not get past the second round of
04:12the playoffs,
04:13I think that hurts his legacy.
04:15Does it, though?
04:16We've seen this, though, where most times, if you were great when it mattered in your prime,
04:22we don't really hold the end against you.
04:25We don't hold it with Willie Mays.
04:26We don't hold it with Mickey Mantle.
04:28We really don't in the long term.
04:29We don't hurt it with Bird with the bad back.
04:31I think that he's solidified with his prime.
04:34The issue would more be how interested should your team be?
04:38If you're the Knicks, if you're the Sixers, if you're anybody out there,
04:40would you take Kevin Durant, right?
04:42Do you really want Kevin Durant?
04:43I don't want Kevin Durant.
04:44And I'm at the point where the answer's no, and my answer is yes about LeBron
04:48because LeBron does more things.
04:50KD at this point—
04:51I would take KD over LeBron.
04:53No, you wouldn't.
04:54I wouldn't take either one of them.
04:55Like, you asked me from a Knick perspective.
04:57If you're a Knick perspective—
04:57I would not take LeBron yet.
04:58You've already said that.
05:00Yes.
05:01You're going to tell me.
05:03Yeah.
05:03As a basketball aficionado—
05:05That's what I asked Joe Dumars, yes.
05:07Right, and he's not.
05:08But, yeah, you would take this version of Kevin Durant.
05:12Yes.
05:13Yeah.
05:13I would take Kevin Durant over LeBron James all day, every day.
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