As the basketball world processes a fact that some regarded not long ago as inconceivable, Washington defensive back DeAngelo Hall has opted instead to protect his team’s fan base.
Via the Washington Post, Hall took to Twitter to urge D.C. native Kevin Durant to not become a Raiders fan.
(For his part, Hall should at some level be a Raiders fan, given that Oakland once paid him $8 million for only eight games.)
Teammate Su’a Cravens cared less about Durant’s football allegiances and more about the impact of Durant’s move on the NBA, with a series of humorous tweets including threats to give people the Uncle Phil/Jazzy Jeff treatment if they pick the Warriors on NBA 2K17 when playing the game at Cravens’ house.
While Cravens also vowed not to watch basketball this year due to the presumption that the Warriors will win the NBA title, keep in mind that, 16 years ago, Washington had a team that many were ready to crown before the season began, following the additions of Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jeff George, and top-three draft picks LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels. That team didn’t even make it to the playoffs.
But that’s the difference between football and basketball. With a dozen more players at a time on a gridiron, teamwork means a lot more, and the contributions of individuals easily become diluted. Even if the NFL would dump the salary cap, it would be difficult to get a collection of highly-paid stars to perform like a group of good-but-not-great players who knew their roles, accepted them, and stayed in their lanes, focusing on the three-word Bill Parcells mantra that was co-opted two years ago by the Patriots and that routinely omits a fourth word, beginning with an F.