Earlier this week, Kevin Durant made a batch of new comments about his move to the Warriors. Among them, he praised the Golden State players for their "selfless" play.
After the Thunder's practice in Oklahoma City on Thursday, Russell Westbrook was asked about that particular quote. Westbrook, clearly a bit agitated by them, responded.
"That's cute, man," he said. "That's cute. My job is to be able to worry about what's going on here. We don't worry about all the selfish guys we got over here apparently. So we better figure that out."
Context is important in this situation. Durant's comments were made during a panel discussion at Stanford on Monday, not a scrum setting. The forum was part of a ceremony honoring the Warriors as an entrepreneurial company of the year. The point of the discussion, which included Joe Lacob, Bob Myers and Andre Iguodala, was to explain what was so great about Golden State's organization.
So Durant's in a tough spot. He's always been a positive guy in interview settings. He often praises players, team, opponents, coaches, whoever. But right now, when he praises his new organization, many take it as a veiled shot at his former employers.
But, of course, Durant isn't completely absolved in this situation. He didn't leave OKC on the best terms. There's a reason Westbrook seems a bit peeved. After battling alongside him for eight years, he just sent his former running mate _ a guy he publicly backed on numerous occasions and often referred to as a "brother" _ a text message. No phone call or explanation. The two haven't talked since, Westbrook recently said.
But they'll be in the same place on Nov. 3: Oracle Arena.
