When he first came out, despite the one-and-done aspect, he was still a great rep for UT- all the way into that MVP acceptance speech where he credited his mom as the real MVP (2014). Everyone in the entire world loved that. And it was a pretty good moment for the UT program even if only indirectly. But it has been a mostly downhill slide for KD ever since at least in terms of public perception.
This clip below demonstrates part of it -- Peyton Manning hosting the ESPY's back in 2017. Listen for the derisive laughter as the camera zeroes in on him, then Westbrook. And that audience is mostly people in the industry (fellow athletes + media). You can tell public sentiment towards him had changed as of that moment. But besides leaving for GSW, other things have happened as well -- for example, he was busted creating multiple sock accounts on twitter (and perhaps other sites) where he defended/supported himself while pretending to be someone else. That was not a good look. And now it seems like he cant get along with anyone - this is the second good team he has voluntarily left. It's not like he is going to join the Kicks to win a championship. Or anywhere else.
Maybe the Lakers in 2 years? If they could make the money fit, which is highly dubious, they could have a Big 3 of Lebron/Kwahi/KD. But I cant see any of those 3 taking a $ discount. Plus Lebron would be 36 for the 2020-21 season and KD would be 32, coming off achilles surgery. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. But we will see.
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Agree x 1
Last edited: Jun 26, 2019