Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency to join the Golden State Warriors and further bolster their roster and the internet lost its mind. The reason is that Kevin Durant is a basketball superstar of the highest order. Did you know that other than MJ and Wilt, he is the only player in NBA history to score 25+ in 40 games in a single season? I didn't even know that. I was doing some basketball trivia questions the other day and I found out from the answers. That random fact was just to demonstrate how elite Durant's game is. But because of his talent level and the timing of his decision, all over the web were people being critical, calling him a quitter and a band-wagoner but I disagree with all of them.

Kevin Durant didn't join the Warriors to be a band-wagoner. In fact, the argument can be made that he'll be the best player on the roster next season. Durant left Oklahoma City simply because he wanted a change of scenery and a chance to win as a package deal. Where better to go than the Golden State Warriors who have been an exceptional basketball team who has a lot of fun playing together of the last two years especially. 

Anyone who enjoys the game loves watching the Warriors and would jump at the opportunity to play with them. But that is where the divide starts: there are many in the basketball community who believe Durant should have the competitive fervor to want to beat that Goliath of a team and he almost did this year. 

But that's where Durant's heart lies and that's no knock against him. He has seen the beauty of Golden State's ball movement and he wants to be a part of that and move away from the iso heavy offense the Thunder has employed for most of his career thus far. 

All in all though, even though most people don't approve, I'm glad KD made the basketball decision that would make him happy and I wish him all the best in Oakland. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the 2016 NBA Champions mainly because they've done what I've always preached. They always won because of an injury and a suspension but that's another story for another day.

People have always said that Cleveland would never take that next step until Lebron becomes an elite closer and more aggressive in the waning moments of a game. I've always said that's not Lebron's nature or in his skill set. Throughout the Finals, Kyrie Irving was consistently the Cavaliers' closer and the best scorer on the court even though Lebron led in that category. Anyone watching those games saw the elite closer and scorer that Uncle Drew has always been since his first year in the league. Let's not forget that during LeBron's hiatius from Cleveland, Kyrie earned the nickname Mr. Fourth Quarter:

 The 2016 NBA Playoffs are upon us and it's time to make our picks. My pick for this years championship is.. The Oklahoma City Thunder. That's right, I'm not picking the Warriors or the Cavs or even the Spurs because I believe OKC will beat all those teams on their way to winning the NBA Championship.

I choose the Thunder because they are just too talented and I feel like this is their year. Over the past few years they've been plagued with injuries during the playoffs to one of their two main stairs at a time. Of course, anything could go wrong and they don't mesh well or get injured or worse, end up choking, but if neither happens, they will go all the way.

Now, you may be asking: even over the Golden State Warriors? Yes! GSW are a GREAT team.. and an all time great team at that (they just set the record for most wins in a regular season), but I think the size and athleticism of OKC, combined with their skill level and the fact that they have two superstars will be too much for GSW in the end.

For this to happen however, there are two x-factors: Russell Westbrook and Dion Waiters. They are both brain cramp players who make HORRIBLE  decisions far too often for their team to go all the way. The mere fact that OKC is this good (3rd seed in the West) is a testament to just how supremely talented this bunch is. But Westbrook is a little more of an x-factor than Waiters because he's going to need to channel his inner UCLA defense that earned him Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2008 in order to will the Thunder to the top. Far too often does he gamble and cause break downs in his team's defense - this cannot happen against a elite teams like Golden State, Cleveland and San Antonio. He also needs to eliminate 3 pointers from his game completely. He takes far too many for someone who shoots such a low percentage. 

Are these two things really too much to ask? Because that what coach Billy Donovan should be preaching. And if the Thunder (Westbrook especially), just do the above, they should go all the way. 

What do you guys think? Makes sense or no?