Matt Barnes made a lot headlines when he made it known that he was rooting for the L.A. Clippers to win against the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs because there was apparently no nightlife in Salt Lake City, and the Warriors would be heading to the winner of the Clippers-Jazz series for round two. Jazz fans were unhappy with his comments, as the organization fired back with t-shirts and an ad campaign to promote the world-class restaurants and bars in Salt Lake City.

After sweeping the Jazz in their Western Conference Semifinals matchup, Kevin Durant talked about the level of respect he now has for their team and organization. He also contradicted, via Daniel Mano of The Mercury News, what his teammate said and admitted that Salt Lake City has a lot to offer.

“Shout out to Utah Jazz — they’re a tough, tough group of guys. I really have a lot of respect for them, their whole organization, that city. I know you heard a lot about the nightlife, but there’s a lot to offer in Utah and Salt Lake City.”

The former MVP and four-time scoring champion then discussed how it was competing with the Jazz, and said all games were tough to win despite the Warriors sweeping the series.

“The fans, the organization and those players — I gained a lot of respect. More respect that I had for them. I always had respect for they way they played but it just took it up another level when you play them in the playoffs. So much respect to the Jazz. We might have won in a sweep but every game was tough, every game was a grind, every game they brought the best out of us. Nothing but respect for the Jazz.”

Barnes' comments may have been out of line, as Salt Lake City is a bustling city with good chefs and breweries around the metro. Jazz fans may have been disappointed with what he said, but at least they can find some comfort in knowing that one of the Dubs' biggest stars thinks otherwise of their city, and their basketball team.