I’ve seen this comparison and the Bird joining the Lakers comparison now a few times, and they’re not applicable. They’re not the same. You can’t use either Duncan or Bird to compare with what KD did because both Duncan and Bird won championships early on in their careers. They didn’t go leless their first 7-8 years in the league. Because they won les, it’s hard to imagine them leaving their teams afterwards, even if some of their later teams had problems. Those two especially since they won multiple les with their teams.
The apt comparisons would be saying it would be like KG joining the Lakers after 2004 or Patrick Ewing joining the Bulls after 1993. It would be more like Chris Paul joining Miami in 2011 in terms of the level of pussy a move it was. But when you think of those comparisons, those scenarios don’t seem so far-fetched from reality. You can legitimately imagine those players trying to make those moves. Ringless stars with a compe ive edge and desire to chase a championship by trying to stack the deck.
Star players who have failed to win championships have tried to stack the deck forever. And yes, including LeBron. We’ve just been more used to it from stars past their prime making a last ditched effort to ring, like Malone and GP. KD did it in his prime, joining a championship core who were also all in their primes. That’s why it seems so pussy. But it’s not that much different from what we’ve seen before. And it really isn’t much different from what LeBron did in 2010, in terms of trying to stack the deck even though the Heat weren’t an already made championship team. But it’s the same idea, just more egregiously pussified. Still the same thing. You can point out differences. But the similarities are there as well.