Bayless starts Twitter fight with Durant
I’m very publicly open about my opinions on Skip Bayless. I think he’s an idiot.
In fact, I think he’s such an idiot that I can’t be 100% sure he’s not one of the biggest trolls of all time. A guy ESPN throws on camera just to make everyone else angry with his outrageous opinions. If that’s the case, then bravo to ESPN for pulling that off, but if it’s not, then Bayless will probably go down in history as one of the worst sports anchors of all time.
Most recently, Bayless got into an argument with Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant about Durant’s offseason workouts with rival LeBron James. Apparently, Bayless thinks that basketball is war and the two “enemies” shouldn’t be allowed near one another.
"Wake up, KD: LeBron is keeping his friends close and his enemy closer. You're letting him OWN you," Bayless tweeted.
Durant fired back in a tweet that has since been deleted.
"@RealSkipBayless u brainwashing these people out here, they think since you on espn you know what u talkin bout...please, nobody owns me.”
Durant nailed the problem. Some people get brainwashed into thinking Bayless knows what he’s talking about because he’s on ESPN, but he’s been called out and made to look like a fool time and time again for clearly not knowing what the heck he’s talking about.
The argument didn’t end there. Last night, Bayless continued to poke the bear and let loose another Twitter tirade.
“Some day @KDTrey5 you'll realize how RIGHT I am about you/LeBron. CAN'T let primary rival be ur best friend, esp. when he's mentally fragile."
"Wake up @KDTrey5. You let LeBron play in Finals comfort zone G2-5 b/c you like/respect him so much. Must get in his head, under his skin."
"Remember @KDTrey5: LeBron now has a ring. You don't. If you want your say on First Take, you're welcome any morning 10-12E. Just say when."
I’d like to hope if we ignored this guy he’d eventually just go away, but it’s so hard to ignore such ridiculous comments. These guys aren’t fighting to the death, they’re playing a game! If the two best basketball players in the world want to work out together, who cares? Get over it, Skip, and get a clue while you’re at it.
He just want KD to get tougher, nothing wrong with that. The Spurs are really soft these years since they lost guys like Elie, Bowen, Horry,etc. They need that NASTY.
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While I LOVE the fact that Skip is a Spurs fan...he is so utterly annoying.
But you know what? He's a talking head and this is what talking heads do. On the other other hand....Kevin Durant firing back? So dumb and childish. I like Kevin Durant. But you think MJ (if Twitter had existed back then) would have fired back? Or Magic? Or Duncan nowadays? Or even Kobe???? Absolutely not. They would have just been pros and proved their point on the hardwood.
No need for Durant to reply. If it's that easy for Skip Bayless to get in his head and get a rise out of him, what does that say about his composure on the court? It was pretty obvious that SJax was getting on his nerves with the way SJax was practically in his shirt in the WCF. I'm starting to wonder if Durant has the cajones to go all the way.
@dannyholloway While I agree with you about skip in general, I do think he has a point here. Old school superstars would NEVER have done this. It almost seems like the new generation is losing that killer instinct. It could also be a product of the softened up game of today as compared to the mans game of old. And Im with you on starting to doubt KD..
@Spursfan66 Oh, ya buddy. I'm totally with you on that. And I meant to make that my original point, but started rambling. haha. But, I'm starting to feel like an old man. I don't understand the new NBA. I realize that a lot of these kids grew up together via AAU programs and what not, but you're supposed to hate your opposition. At least in my old school view of the world. Haha.
@Spursfan66 @dannyholloway EXACTLY! The point is to be the best/beat the best. Not be their buddy. I think you and I are most definitely from the same school in that regard.
@dannyholloway lol I suspected that was where you were going..and I absolutely get you with the old man thing...It's become a far cry from the game we grew up with. MJ, Bird, etc would never even have THOUGHT about a superteam scenario, teaming up with players they had fierce battles with in the past.
@dannyholloway I hate to take it here... but it's hard to tell a young black man that someone "owns" him.... that connotation carries a little different significance.
I'm not accusing Skip of anything racist or anything... I'm just saying that something worded that way sounds different to black man than Skip intended it. I'm not shocked at the response.
@jjkaralis I feel you. And I see where you are coming from on that. But at the same time, it's not like he told Durant that a white dude "owned" him. He said another black guy owned him. So, like I said, I feel you. "Owned" has a much connotation to a black person than it does to a white person. But as dark as American History has been, blacks never owned other blacks, so I also don't think it's too much to get charged up about in terms of race, ya know?
@jjkaralis Oh, ya. Good point. I hadn't thought about the "nobody owns me" part. That is most definitely words to show it probably did touch a nerve. Good call.
@dannyholloway You're right. That reaction of his though... "nobody owns me"... shows it clearly touched a nerve.
But like I said... I don't think anyone meant anything racial, thus I wo'nt get charged up about it. it's just a matter of wording... the right phrase can strike a nerve
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I really don't know why people hat skip sooooo much. First of all, he does have outrageous opinions, but obviously not ALL of his opinions are outrageous. Yes, basketball seems to be the sport where the majority of people disagree with him. Football is his most knowledgable sport and has displayed he knows alot about it (except for TIm Tebow). People disagree with skip on one or two things, and automatically, he's an idiot on everything sports related. That's more of the viewer's fault if you ask me. Seriously, I watch ESPN First Take all the time, sometimes I disagree with Skip, sometimes I agree with him, what's the big deal? When it comes to sensitive topics like race, players having personal problems, anything considered "sensitive" in the media, I always see Smith and Bayless agree with each other on topics like those. Basketball is Skip's weak point, but come on people, NOT EVERYTHING HE SAYS ABOUT BASKETBALL IS TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS. For example, before last basketball season started, who did skip pick for the western conference finals? He picked OKC and the spurs. He picked the spurs because he knew Tim Duncan got into some damn good shape, lost some weight, and worked hard during the offseason. Guess what? Tim Duncan ended up playing pretty damn good all season, and the spurs made it to the WCF just as Skip predicted. I'm sure Skip was one of the very few analysts who picked the spurs to even get past the first round. Now I know he said Tiago Splitter was going to be a factor for the spurs, but hey, we can't all make stellar predictions. Skip has the credentials (was a very popular and well respected journalist) for like 30 years, so I think he knows a little about sports. I'm not saying Skip is never wrong, or he never has outrageous opinions, because he does. My problem is that some people overreact and say he has no clue about WHATEVER he talks about, and has no clue about sports in general. That is obviously not the case. Some people have never watched Skip, and they read other comments on how he is an idiot, and suddenly assume that skip must be an idiot on sports just by listening/reading comments on him, rather than actually watching ESPN First Take.
He's a troll. He sounds f'ing ridiculous and he doesn't care so long as he gets reactions. Just look at how he ends it... by inviting Durant on the show.
It's a ratings/exposure thing. He makes ridiculously stupid comments.. he rattles a cage... and then he hopes that person responds and people all pay attention.
Once again, nice try by Skip. Clearly he's trying to bring in a guest that is way out of his show's league. That show is trash, and the only athlete guests appearing on there should be backups and retired players. There's no way a legit superstar like Durant should waste his time with Skip.
