PORTLAND, Ore. _ On NBA draft night 2008, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook met as teenagers, just months before both turned 20. Together, for the next eight years, they built a relocated franchise from the ground up, nearing but narrowly missing the sport's pinnacle season after season.
They were teammates for 652 NBA games, the last coming in Game 7 of the West Finals in Oracle Arena this past May.
Come Thursday, on that same Oakland floor, they'll be NBA opponents for the first time. Durant left the Thunder for the Warriors in July. Much has been said and speculated about their relationship since. Various stories are sure to arise over the next few days, setting up Thursday's anticipated matchup.
But after Golden State's Tuesday morning shootaround in Portland, Durant met with the Bay Area News Group to discuss what he perceives as a manufactured, but inauthentic, feud between the two, created by others. Durant clearly had some things he wanted to get off his chest.
Here are his unfiltered thoughts in Q&A form.
