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One of the NBA's 50 greatest players ever, George "Ice Man" Gervin made an appearance on ESPN's first take and talked about what he thinks about Kevin Durant. I was never around to see George Gervin play so I'm not going to sit here and compare the two, but you also have to recognize Kevin Durant’s abilities and talent and in doing so you can’t deny that Durant has potential to one day be on a short list of greatest players of all time.

I also agree with George about the physical play argument being overrated and the misconception about today's players being soft; today's style of play is in no way a representation of the players and it isn't their fault that the refs blow their whistle for every little touch or contact. Now sure you can bring up the argument of flopping and by no means am I trying to defend flopping but I am trying to reason for it. When calls are made so easily you have to expect players to adapt and take advantage of the situation; it's just a natural process and characteristic of human beings and all living things. If the league still allowed physical play the players would adapt and adjust to that style of play and the same talented players would be standing atop the league.

In conclusion, before this turns into a conversation about science and philosophy, all I'm trying to say is although on the surface it looks as if the problem is caused by the players, it actually goes much deeper than that. The game is controlled by the people in the NBA offices, they are the ones who truly dictate how the play goes on the court.