JJ Redick & Stephen A. DISAGREE on Kevin Durant getting ENOUGH credit as a leader 🍿 | First Take

JJ Redick & Stephen A. DISAGREE on Kevin Durant getting ENOUGH credit as a leader 🍿 | First Take

Kevin Durant and the Suns take on Luca Kyrie and the Mavs in a West showdown ktie has been prone to criticism is also not afraid to fire back in a chat with his manager and boardroom founder Rich Kleinman on the boardroom platform Durant spoke about why he believes some

In the media question his leadership KD talk to me I’m not as charismatic as my peers I don’t have a personality that’s like fit for TV like my peers and a lot of those stories of what we talk about don’t get spoken about in the media and that’s

Just really what it is it’s like you got to sell what you’re doing as well and I haven’t sold it enough you know and I feel like I don’t I mean I don’t I don’t feel like I need to I don’t feel like I want people to call me a leader but I

Also don’t want people who say I’m not one either KD introspective there a lot of self-awareness the boardrooms cover story star Kevin Durant dropped yesterday on boardroom dotv all right stepen tell me this do you feel like KD hasn’t been given the credit he deserves no I think he’s been given

Exactly the credit that he deserves I think that he’s recognized as one of the greatest players that ever has played this game uh just a professional scorer one of the elite scorers he’s a two-time champion he’s a two-time NBA Finals MVP he’s universally respected and revered for his prowess on the basketball court

And that’s exactly where it should stop the fact of the matter is is that Kevin Durant is a basketball Savant he is a brilliant basketall basketball mind who does not spend enough time educating people on the game of basketball he’s usually whining about other people’s positions as opposed to elaborating and

Educating the way he is fully capable of doing that’s the issue you know in the past we can bring up the false account and all of that other stuff I’m not getting into all of that I love Kevin Durant and I think that he’s a even better person than he is a basketball

Player but I’ve told him this to his face and it it’s a problem with him it’s a problem with LeBron it’s it’s a problem with a host of elite players they’re also Elite basketball minds and a lot of times they don’t express it they assume you don’t know they assume

You don’t have a capacity or a willingness to learn from what they’re willing to educate you about as it pertains to their game and the way that they play it and they don’t speak enough on that they will clap back at a comment or a tweet or something like that that

Somebody else has said if a viral if something goes viral and it ends up on social media or whatever they’ll clap back and they’ll challenge you about what you said or whatever but they don’t do it in a fashion that they’re willing to educate you about what you may not

Know instead they’re coming at you in a very cantankerous fashion half the time or a dismissive fashion because their attitude is you may not be worth their time and that’s really what’s is something that Kevin Durant has done on many occasions and JJ and mad dog I’m

Not telling you anything that I haven’t told Kevin Durant to his face from time to time I said what you know about the game of basketball if you really really spoke on it more often you’d be amazed at the level of understanding people will inherently gather because they have

No choice because you know what the hell you’re talking about the problem is most of the time you choose not to articulate that position and as a result you leave people to their own devices sometimes they may get it right sometimes they may get it wrong but in the end when it

Comes to you in terms of what you’re recognized for being a lot of times people don’t say anything because you don’t let them know and a lot of other folks of your a lot of your other contemporaries don’t let them know Well when I think of great leaders in

Basketball I’m going to think of a guy like Magic Johnson who ran the Lakers who got West head fired who brought in Riley who put that team and won five championships listen and if I’m going to follow Durant I mean I to have his agent

Do the thing I mean you know I can’t pay attention men of that is Agents doing an interview with Durant I mean that’s not exactly what I would call that’s not 60 minutes that’s not my Wallace but hold up hold the agent come on that that might be where he’s comfortable well I

Mean but being a leader is also being you know out there and talking to the Press generally and getting your point across to the agents well I’m say do something the AG if you want to be honest and open and get your narrative out I would maybe go on a Friends

Podcast as well I’m just saying have the guts to go on somewhere where maybe they won’t as friendly as with the agent you know at the builtmore with a fireplace going in the background builtmore is a great Hotel it you know it is but that look at

JJ that is getting that’s a little rough to take but here’s the problem with Durant right he left Oklahoma City he did not win and he blew a 3-1 lead in that last year him and Westbrook had problems then he takes the easy way out

To a lot of fans Thoughts by going to Golden State who had already won a championship he was a wonderful player with golden state don’t get get me wrong and I love him as a player I’m with Steve 100% but he won the two titles in Golden State and they already already

Won one then he leaves there and follows Kyrie to the Nets in Brooklyn and that you know they had he played great at times but they didn’t win the Harden thing was a mess then he wanted Nash fired then he didn’t want Nash fired then he wanted to trade then he didn’t

Want to trade then he gets traded to Phoenix and it gets smoked by Denver in the first round in the second round of the playoffs and they’re 8 games over 500 today I mean Durant needs to win a title here Durant needs to win a title that’s first and foremost but when I

Think of a leader on a basketball team I just don’t think that’s his personality he is not the guy I would think of Durant lot to unpack there from both of you guys um just so you know Molly I promis my wife I wouldn’t yell today but

I may have to yell at Stephen a uh based on his comments I’m going to address the question first the question is does he get the credit he deserves I think as a basketball player Stephen I think you’re right I think he does get the credit he deserves but there’s always a butt

Attached to it because of the decision um you know I talked about this in 2016 right after he chose to go to the Warriors and I was a fan of that move and I was on the Clippers and had to go compete against the Warriors I knew our Championship window was closed the

Second he signed that contract but I was still a fan of the move because I believe players they get they get drafted serve their rookie cont contract play the five years he gave nine years nine great years to Oklahoma City he had the right to pursue whatever was going

To make him happy at the time just like he had the right after the Warriors run to pursue whatever was going to make him happy at the time we are athletes we have a finite amount of time to enjoy this ride I had no problem with it I

Have no problem actually with any decision he’s made Steph Curry is one of the greatest players of all time this is not me pitting Kevin Durant against Steph Curry the reality is in the the 17 finals the 18 finals Kevin Durant was the best player on the floor he was the best

Player on the floor there’s a reason he won those finals MVPs 358 and5 in 17 56% 47% from three 2911 and 8 assists in 18 53% 41% he was the best player to me he he doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a defensive player these last few

Seasons he’s been phenomenal on that end he doesn’t get the credit he deserves because of his decision making which everyone wants to critique his decisionmaking I don’t necessarily think that’s fair I don’t and you can you can have qualms here about his decision to team up with Kyrie and Brooklyn here’s

The reality they were a James Harden injury a Kyrie injury and a toenail away away from probably winning the 21 NBA fights that’s the reality and there’s look NBA history is littered with Whata ifs littered with Whata ifs on the leadership front not everybody leads the

Same way are have you been in a locker room with Kevin Durant I here’s what I know about Kevin Durant I know that Kevin Durant leads by example I know the way he approaches his craft this is a guy that lives breathes eats sleeps basketball that’s a form of

Leadership now I want to address Stephen A’s Point since when is it players jobs to educate people on basketball when did that become a thing when did that become a thing isn’t that our job isn’t that our job I’ll answer my job that’s my job to educate people on basketball I’m

Letting you speak and then I’ll answer I’m it’s our job Stephen A to educate people on basketball it’s our job and here’s the reality this is the ecosystem we live in I can do a video on my podcast I can do a video on my podcast

Where I break down the last nine games the Pelicans have used Zion Williamson as the primary ball handler and what type of actions that has led to I looked it up this morning 54 ,000 views on YouTube but I want to call out a coach yesterday oh that gets tens of millions

Of engagements that’s the ecosystem we live in so do fans actually want to be educated or not do they MH okay can I respond of course you can it’s your show thank you so much first of all a couple of things because um I’m glad you promised your wife that you wouldn’t

Yell and then you broke your promise to her so plan on going home and explaining the fact that you just violated you know what you promised your wife so at at at at about 10 minutes into the show so that’s number one but that’s a personal problem and I’m sure you’ll handle it

Number two when you talk about his job to educate nobody said it was his job but the fact of the matter is what you’re what you’re highlighting is something that indirectly if not directly you’ve lamented for quite a long time and you’re going to have to

Get over that JJ just like J just like Kevin Durant has the right to play Let Me finish he has the right to play and he also has the right to keep his thoughts to himself and he has absolutely no obligation whatsoever to educate anybody because you’re absolutely right that’s our job most

Folks in the media have been doing their job and you bring up the question you you periodically ask questions like this have you been in a locker room with a player well that depends on how you look at it because you’ve interviewed players in locker rooms if you’re me for decades

You’ve done that if you’re Mike wilbon Mike wilbon co-authored the book that was that was that CP3 ultimately wrote okay he went to ascribe in order to do that just because you didn’t play and you didn’t play on that level doesn’t mean you don’t Ste don’t don’t don’t

Jump on that bridge don’t jump on that bridge you know I was I was not bringing it up you don’t need to tell me your track record you I have told you a million times done it on this show I I I know you a legend you a legendary

Journalist Mike wion is a legendary journalist that’s not what I’m talking I’m not talking about being in the locker room after a game what are you talking about this is this is you’re the one that brought asking day the daytoday work that is put in when the cameras are off that’s what I’m

Talking about I’m talking about the sanctity of a locker room sanctity of a practice we don’t have privilege to see inside that we don’t okay okay unless you’re on the team that that that’s fine but here’s the reality we do get to measure results then because we don’t

Know and the fact that hold on and then it is another thing JJ re most times folks ain’t honest about it they’ll come at honesty later but you’re not going to give insight into what into the particulars that go on inside of a locker room so somebody covering the

Team may not know this week they might know next week they might know the week after and you know what you’ll do then not you specifically but you know what folks would do then you’re just looking for trouble you’re looking for the negativity how much truth is there to

That you’ve seen God’s plausible Deni abilities mad dog how many times in your career have you seen one player after another after another deny deny deny critique critique critique insult insult insult and then they retire and admit that the the person was telling the truth all the damn long that has

Happened on countless occasions that is a Hall of Fame that you are a hall of fam that you are sent across from right there in media JJ that has been covering media for 40 plus years and he will tell you I am absolutely right how many times

Do people sit up there and say even when we do do our job just the same way you said we should they will literally sit up there and engage in plausible deniability and deny your truth until they retire and then they admit that they told the truth all along so we see

All of that stuff happening all the damn time in the end it is perfectly within within bounds to sit up there and look at Kevin Durant recognize him as being an absolutely phenomenal future Hall of Famer first ballot without question two-time champion two-time NBA Finals MVPs one of the greatest players in the

History of this game and you can talk about different types of leadership but we would argue that his type of leadership didn’t necessarily lead to more success that he could have had does he owe it to anybody no but when you talk about the narrative when you talk

About how somebody is depicted when you talk about him in comparison to other Bonafide leaders and what have you Kevin Durant said it himself on a bottom ticker you know what in terms of him want I want people to call me a leader it’s not that I don’t feel like I want

People to call me a leader but I also don’t want them to say that I’m not one either well which one is it you say you don’t want them to call you a leader but you don’t want them to not call you a leader I don’t know what to say about

That people have their preferences and they’re going to look and they’re going to judge accordingly the only thing you can definitively judge is what you see on the court you can’t judge anything else everything else is subject to perception a perception that he has contributed to putting out there it’s a fact

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, JJ Redick and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo discuss if Kevin Durant has not been given the credit he deserves as a leader.

0:00 Kevin Durant on not getting enough credit for being a leader
4:00 Mad Dog’s take
6:00 JJ Redick on Kevin Duran’ts career
8:30 Stephen A. and JJ go head to head
11:00 Measuring results and inside the locker room talk

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