Nice article on David West

[muskiefan82]

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/14/the-most-interesting-man-on-the-warriors-the-one-who-sacrificed-millions-in-pursuit-of-nba-title/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1494767162

[GoMuskies]

I don't know a David West.

Did you mean David Fucking West?

[muskiefan82]

I don't know a David West.

Did you mean David Fucking West?

Yes. Yes, I do.

[blueblob06]

Great stuff, thanks for sharing!

[murray87]

Keith Waleskowski could not be reached for comment.

[xu82]

I checked comments but then finally clicked on the article. It's a very nice read and well worth a few minutes.

[JEHARDI]

Great ambassador for X and basketball in general.

[smileyy]

I find the line between "sacrificing salary for winning" and "ring-chasing" to be quite the fuzzy one.

[Muskeagle]

"gooo....dayton flyers." hehehehe

[ammtd34]

I find the line between "sacrificing salary for winning" and "ring-chasing" to be quite the fuzzy one.

Is one good or bad?

West doesn't seem to claim he's doing it for any other reason.

[THRILLHOUSE]

Is one good or bad?

West doesn't seem to claim he's doing it for any other reason.

I don't have a problem with it. However, before his last season started with Indy, West said he isn't the type of guy to ring chase. Things change and that's fine, but I get why people would call him out on it. And if the Warriors don't win it all, there will be plenty of jokes and memes directed at him.

Speaking of David F'n West, The Undefeated posted an interview with him today:

https://theundefeated.com/features/warriors-david-west/

[paulxu]

And another one.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2712455-sit-down-be-humble-an-nba-champions-guide-to-ring-chasing?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

[GIMMFD]

Honestly, I'll be absolutely gutted for him if he doesn't win an NBA Championship, the man has taken veteran minimums in order to win a championship, he does things the right way, I'd love for him to get it. He's been chasing it for so long.

[GoMuskies]

David Wast wants to coach? Uh, yes please!

Oh, and the author should be fucking shot for including Adam Morrison in an article about David West, Michael Finley, Mitch Richmond, Mike Miller and (to a much lesser extent) Barkley and Malone!

[Xville]

Honestly, I'll be absolutely gutted for him if he doesn't win an NBA Championship, the man has taken veteran minimums in order to win a championship, he does things the right way, I'd love for him to get it. He's been chasing it for so long.

I like David West as much as any Xavier fan, and think that he is a good representative for the University but is chasing a championship really something to be admired? I can't stand Durant for doing basically the same thing, so I can't be a hypocrite and say I really want West to win. Plus, outside of Curry, I find a lot of the individual personalities on the Warriors pretty unlikable.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I like David West as much as any Xavier fan, and think that he is a good representative for the University but is chasing a championship really something to be admired? I can't stand Durant for doing basically the same thing, so I can't be a hypocrite and say I really want West to win. Plus, outside of Curry, I find a lot of the individual personalities on the Warriors pretty unlikable.

LeBron is the most guilty of all of them. He basically started it. Other NBA players had done this at the end of their careers (Malone, Payton, Barkley, KG) but LeBron did it in the prime of his career. He was terrified of not winning one.

These guys cant win with fans though. It used to be "they dont want to win they only care about the money" (see A-Rod to the Rangers as one prime example). Now these guys going to teams that give them a better chance to win and the are being blasted for "ring chasing".

These guys now know they will ultimately be judged by rings and they dont want to be the next Barkley, Ewing, Malone, etc. If Durant wins 3 rings with the Warriors in 20 years people will be talking about 3 time champion KD, not that he teamed up with the Warriors to do it.

[MuskieXU]

I like David West as much as any Xavier fan, and think that he is a good representative for the University but is chasing a championship really something to be admired? I can't stand Durant for doing basically the same thing, so I can't be a hypocrite and say I really want West to win. Plus, outside of Curry, I find a lot of the individual personalities on the Warriors pretty unlikable.

I understand why some people could look down on him for "ring chasing" but theres also something admiral about turning down 11 Million Dollars to play with the games elite.

The ringer wrote a great article in which West explains how he really isnt ring chasing. If you need a reason to admire DWest in recent years this will definitely give you one.

https://theringer.com/dont-call-david-west-a-ring-chaser-ef829963efeb

[xufan2434]

I like David West as much as any Xavier fan, and think that he is a good representative for the University but is chasing a championship really something to be admired? I can't stand Durant for doing basically the same thing, so I can't be a hypocrite and say I really want West to win. Plus, outside of Curry, I find a lot of the individual personalities on the Warriors pretty unlikable.

I think it's different in DW's case. People that are mad about KD are mad because he's a top 10 player in the league, and was on the 2nd best team in the West while leaving the whole city and Russ out to dry. DW left a declining Pacers team on the back end of his career. He gets what, maybe 15 minutes a night? At this point he knows what he is and what he can offer. It's either leave and try to get a ring after you've put in the hard work with a team that could use veteran presence.. or get replaced on your current team (the pacers) by someone younger the org wants to develop and fade into the night

[GIMMFD]

I like David West as much as any Xavier fan, and think that he is a good representative for the University but is chasing a championship really something to be admired? I can't stand Durant for doing basically the same thing, so I can't be a hypocrite and say I really want West to win. Plus, outside of Curry, I find a lot of the individual personalities on the Warriors pretty unlikable.

Eh, honestly I think Draymond is the one that gives the Warriors the bad rep more than anything. He's a douche in all senses of the word. Klay Thompson doesn't really say much off the court (granted he did in the finals last year), KD isn't that awful personality wise, other than him leaving to chase a championship. Though I will say, I don't mind ring chasing. I mean I much rather someone have the heart to go out there and want to win, rather than averaging 25 on a crappy team being content. Did he have a solid chance at OKC? Probably, but at the same time, they went to the finals and lost, had a strong hold in the ECF and lost, I think he knew his chances were running thin.

[XUFan09]

I think it's different in DW's case. People that are mad about KD are mad because he's a top 10 player in the league, and was on the 2nd best team in the West while leaving the whole city and Russ out to dry. DW left a declining Pacers team on the back end of his career. He gets what, maybe 15 minutes a night? At this point he knows what he is and what he can offer. It's either leave and try to get a ring after you've put in the hard work with a team that could use veteran presence.. or get replaced on your current team (the pacers) by someone younger the org wants to develop and fade into the night

As a Pacers fan, I was disappointed to see him leave but I totally understood it. His last good year was wasted by Paul George breaking his leg and being out for practically the whole season. West also enjoyed the change of roles when he went to the Spurs. He went from being the veteran presence on a young Pacers team to backing up possibly the greatest power forward of all time in Tim Duncan. He has been quoted in articles how much he liked the relief of that leadership burden while learning from the best. It seems like locker room drama and Larry Bird's antics also motivated his departure from the Pacers, and I could see annoyance with being the veteran leader in that circumstance.

By the time he went to the Warriors, he had a choice between supporting a winner or playing some more minutes in the twilight of his career for an also-ran. And of course, as mentioned by 2434, the latter situation likely would have involved losing minutes to young talent that would have taken more and more of his minutes over the course of the season in part due to long-term potential rather than current production. In that context, if money wasn't a major concern (read: past earnings were managed well), it was probably an easy choice.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[DoubleD86]

LeBron is the most guilty of all of them. He basically started it. Other NBA players had done this at the end of their careers (Malone, Payton, Barkley, KG) but LeBron did it in the prime of his career. He was terrified of not winning one.

These guys cant win with fans though. It used to be "they dont want to win they only care about the money" (see A-Rod to the Rangers as one prime example). Now these guys going to teams that give them a better chance to win and the are being blasted for "ring chasing".

These guys now know they will ultimately be judged by rings and they dont want to be the next Barkley, Ewing, Malone, etc. If Durant wins 3 rings with the Warriors in 20 years people will be talking about 3 time champion KD, not that he teamed up with the Warriors to do it.

The bolded part above is what I don't get about sports fans. Basically, the only way to keep fans happy is to stay with the team that drafts you until the fans no longer want you there. We always talk about loyalty to "the team that gave you a chance" (as if they weren't going to be drafted by anyone else) but no one ever gets upset about the loyalty the other way. It's always "about business" when a team cuts or trades a player that is no longer useful or desirable, but somehow it is immoral if players make a business decision.

[Xville]

LeBron is the most guilty of all of them. He basically started it. Other NBA players had done this at the end of their careers (Malone, Payton, Barkley, KG) but LeBron did it in the prime of his career. He was terrified of not winning one.

These guys cant win with fans though. It used to be "they dont want to win they only care about the money" (see A-Rod to the Rangers as one prime example). Now these guys going to teams that give them a better chance to win and the are being blasted for "ring chasing".

These guys now know they will ultimately be judged by rings and they dont want to be the next Barkley, Ewing, Malone, etc. If Durant wins 3 rings with the Warriors in 20 years people will be talking about 3 time champion KD, not that he teamed up with the Warriors to do it.



In my opinion, it a pretty easy to win sports fans over. Just don't be a complete douche. A-rod is a douche on multiple levels, Durant is a douche in many people's minds (mine included) not necessarily just for ring chasing but for the way in which he did it, which is why many thought or still do think lebron is a douche.

It's easy to win with fans...tons of athletes do it every year.

[MuskieXU]

In my opinion, it a pretty easy to win sports fans over. Just don't be a complete douche. A-rod is a douche on multiple levels, Durant is a douche in many people's minds (mine included) not necessarily just for ring chasing but for the way in which he did it, which is why many thought or still do think lebron is a douche.

It's easy to win with fans...tons of athletes do it every year.

Agreed. Dont mistake a few jokes on social media with fans as a whole disliking DWest. He is thought of universally as a consummate professional on and off the court.

[D-West & PO-Z]

In my opinion, it a pretty easy to win sports fans over. Just don't be a complete douche. A-rod is a douche on multiple levels, Durant is a douche in many people's minds (mine included) not necessarily just for ring chasing but for the way in which he did it, which is why many thought or still do think lebron is a douche.

It's easy to win with fans...tons of athletes do it every year.

Durant is a douche for going to a better team? I dont think anyone thought poorly of Durant before he went to GSW. He didnt tell Westbrook before he did it? Who knows what their relationship was like? Obviously not good. I dont think its comparable the way Durant left and the way LeBron left. The reasons they left are the same and the type of teams they left for but not so much the way in which they did it.

A-Rod is a huge douhce but not one thought that when he was in Seattle and the only reason they criticized him going to Texas was because he got so much money.

[Xville]

Durant is a douche for going to a better team? I dont think anyone thought poorly of Durant before he went to GSW. He didnt tell Westbrook before he did it? Who knows what their relationship was like? Obviously not good. I dont think its comparable the way Durant left and the way LeBron left. The reasons they left are the same and the type of teams they left for but not so much the way in which they did it.

A-Rod is a huge douhce but not one thought that when he was in Seattle and the only reason they criticized him going to Texas was because he got so much money.

Durant is thought of a douche right now for leaving a city that was on the brink of winning a championship, and for going to the team that beat him because he couldn't get the job completed. To me, that's pathetic. You have a differing opinion that's fine...there are many people on both sides of the argument.

[Xville]

Agreed. Dont mistake a few jokes on social media with fans as a whole disliking DWest. He is thought of universally as a consummate professional on and off the court.

Yeah overall I think west is a great ambassador of the university. I just think the whole giving up so much money to win a ring story is a little much. Some of the writers make him out to be some kind of martyr for doing so. Not wests fault.

[smileyy]

I mean, he's had career earnings of about $90M. His "sacrifice" means making only about $1.5 or $2M the last couple years.

[GIMMFD]

I mean, he's had career earnings of about $90M. His "sacrifice" means making only about $1.5 or $2M the last couple years.

Yes but how many people do that in his position? Good for him for managing his finances, as everyone who's making that type of money should, but it's not the norm.

[xeus]

I mean, he's had career earnings of about $90M. His "sacrifice" means making only about $1.5 or $2M the last couple years.

He had options to make a LOT more. I might not call it a sacrifice, but certainly he traded cash for a chance at a ring.

[D-West & PO-Z]

He had options to make a LOT more. I might not call it a sacrifice, but certainly he traded cash for a chance at a ring.

Which I think is refreshing but apparently some see as a negative. I dont get it. I get why some people look down on what Durant did but cant see why anyone would look poorly upon D-West for going to GSW.

[AviatorX]

Which I think is refreshing but apparently some see as a negative. I dont get it. I get why some people look down on what Durant did but cant see why anyone would look poorly upon D-West for going to GSW.

To me they're both fine -- these guys can make their own decisions with their careers. Being young and rich in the Bay Area is probably pretty cool if I had to guess. I'd take that over the same in Oklahoma City. The Durant brand sure isn't suffering since his move.

West obviously places huge personal value on winning a title, which makes sense too. He also has talked about how cool it was to play with Tim Duncan for a year. There's more to these guys having a fulfilling career than completing the fan-developed narrative of bringing a specific city a title, etc.

[D-West & PO-Z]

To me they're both fine -- these guys can make their own decisions with their careers. Being young and rich in the Bay Area is probably pretty cool if I had to guess. I'd take that over the same in Oklahoma City. The Durant brand sure isn't suffering since his move.

West obviously places huge personal value on winning a title, which makes sense too. He also has talked about how cool it was to play with Tim Duncan for a year. There's more to these guys having a fulfilling career than completing the fan-developed narrative of bringing a specific city a title, etc.

I agree. I am fine with both as well.

[xu82]

I sure wish I could take an 85% pay cut and ONLY make a million or two! I'm happy he can do it and hope he gets his ring. Some guys are so stupid with their money, they still need to max out at this point. THAT is sad....