Sunday, August 10, 2014

Kevin Durant and the Half Truth about ‘Do What’s Best for You’

By Charlie Scaturro

The phrase “do what’s best for you” gets thrown around all the time by people who care about our well being. And on the surface, the intent behind this advice, which is essentially saying ‘take care of yourself’, comes from the very best places of the human conscience. Even though you would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t think that, in theory, people should do what they need to do to take care of themselves, it’s always interesting to see how we react when someone actually makes a decision with their health at the forefront of their thought process.

Enter Kevin Durant, who just a few days ago made the decision that he would not play for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup citing the need to take a break from basketball, both physically and mentally, in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season.

There are those who say this decision is more about Durant’s rumored 300-plus million dollar contract with Under Armour than it is about basketball. Maybe so. There are those who say this decision is more about Durant wanting to protect himself from injury after what happened to Paul George recently. Maybe so. There are those who say this decision is more about Durant simply not wanting to play for Team USA this summer. Maybe so. But it’s also perfectly reasonable to think that Durant would need a break after a grueling NBA season, which involved constant traveling, dealing with the media, and having his every move examined under a microscope, all while working to build himself into a brand off the court as well.