Since Kevin Durant departed from the Oklahoma City Thunder last July, the relationship between him and Russell Westbrook has seemed to become very rocky. Westbrook responded to Durant’s comments this week about the Warriors being a selfless and family oriented type of team. Westbrook wasn’t scared to defend his teammates referring to his comments as “cute” and how he was only “focused on the players on this team right now. He also mentioned that he “doesn’t care” about anything Kevin Durant says and that he was “tired of talking about him.”
It’s easy to understand Westbrook’s point of view. He had a heavily built relationship with Durant, but now the relationship looks tainted. When Durant left for Golden State, he didn’t have the decency to call Westbrook over the phone to break the news. He sent him a simple text like he was just another person, that he was leaving for Golden State. For nine seasons, Durant always referred to Westbrook as his “little brother.” However, when Durant chose to leave Oklahoma, he really didn’t show Westbrook enough respect. Durant didn’t leave the Thunder franchise with a lot of grace and that’s sad.
During the summer, Westbrook signed an extension with the Thunder because he has faith in the franchise and his teammates. Westbrook is now the franchise player and captain of the team. The way he defended his team is something Thunder fans should be excited about now and towards the future. It shows Oklahoma City that he wants to win a championship there and he’s committed to making that happen. The tension has been building up between Westbrook and Durant for about 3 months now and that’s only getting the NBA fans excited about their first head to head meeting on November 3 at Golden State.
