Axel. wrote:Yeah, KD had every right to make the decision he made, but he should've understood that there would be criticism involved and learned to live with that. Instead, he's out here desperately (fake social media accounts, really?) trying to justify his decision, when he should just shut the fuck up and keep doing what he came over to GS to do.
It's been interesting to see LeBron and more recently Durant try to play the villain and shake off the criticism with attempts at badass aloofness. The problem is, they're two guys who are (or were) clearly used to being widely adored and praised, so as much as they tried, it's obvious that they're not comfortable being the bad guys. After all the adulation, any kind of criticism - even when it's understandable or justified - is definitely going to sting, but they've lashed out in silly and childish ways while trying to embrace an image that they don't really want. It's understandable to some extent, of course. I would suggest that most people do indeed prefer to be liked and complimented, rather than hated, criticised, and villified.
Of course, you can also contrast their approach with the general attitude of a team like the Bad Boy Pistons back in the day. Those Pistons were pricks, thugs, and definite sporting villains to fans of every other team, but that's who they were and they didn't care. As much as I dislike them, they were at least open and genuine about who they were, and embraced an image that suited them just fine. That's not necessarily admirable in and of itself, but they were comfortable with their reputation because it was a reputation that they'd gladly earned, because that's who they were. The image suited them just fine. LeBron and Durant clearly have been bothered by the change in public perception - again, understandably so - but attempts to lean into it and play the bad guy have been ineffective because if you're going to do that, that's who you truly need to be. You actually do need to not care, and they clearly do, because not caring is easier said than done.