The Warriors and Thunder are going head-to-head on Thursday, and it's the first meeting between the two teams since Kevin Durant shocked everyone this summer when he opted to leave Oklahoma City for Oakland. Of course, everyone wants to know how KD feels about his former teammate and friend Russell Westbrook.
In a new interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Durant was asked if there is any strain on his relationship with Westbrook. KD went on a lengthy rant declaring he and Russ are still "brothers," and he's still "loves" him.
"What you want me to do? I love Russ. I don't care what nobody say. I don't care what he say or what the fans say. Like, this is a tough time right now in our relationship. But I love Russ. I love his family. They all know that. I never did anything morally wrong. I never back-stabbed him in real life, never did anything behind his back, never told anyone anything about his character. Never did any of that. I just left teams. I just switched teams. Everyone on the outside is looking at it as, 'Oh, you must not have liked him.' Hell no. C'mon man. Nobody understand that part. I'm trying to find out who I am. He knew who he was. He knew what he wanted to do. He got married young. He met his girlfriend in college. I didn't have none of that. I didn't have two parents in a home with me. I'm still trying to search and find out who I am. We end up going this way (splits arms again) as far as off-the-court personality wise. And that's not a bad thing."
When asked if there is any heightened rivalry since he left the Thunder in July, Durant explained that there is no beef between himself and his teammate-turned-rival.
"It just shows the way of the world right now. Like, a beef? Bro, I don't beef with nobody. I've seen beefs go the wrong way. We've all seen it. The wrong way—real life wrong way, so you can't say beef around me. I'm not into no basketball beef. Where me or Russ comes from (Seat Pleasant, Md. and Los Angeles, respectively), beef—you don't just throw that word around like that. We have a miscommunication going on between a lot of people, a lot of assumptions—you can say that. But a beef? Nah, there ain't no beef man."
As for Oklahoma City as a whole and their feelings, KD had this to say:
"The 405 (Oklahoma City's area code) has a special place in my heart. Those fans, no matter what they call me or how they feel about me, they know, that if you see me anywhere, that you'll feel like I was your friend. That's how you made me feel, and how I made them feel. Those memories are never going to fade. I feel a certain away about that city, that state, that organization. And I look at that as—I'm going to put (those years) on my trophy case. That eight years is going to go in my trophy case. Not in the trash. I'm onto something new. That's just the way of life sometimes."
You can check the rest of KD's interview here.
