The once brotherly relationship between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is forever altered. Durant's decision to leave Westbrook and the Thunder for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the offseason caused the relationship to basically end while also creating an awkward distance between the two. They haven't talked since last summer and even refuse to acknowledge one another in a friendly way whenever they played against each other this season.
Connecting on an alley-oop, the two did work together to have a highlight play during the 2017 All-Star game though. The Western Conference All-Stars rejoiced and cheered both players after the play, yet that was really the only true moment of closeness both Westbrook and Durant have shared since the offseason.
Durant though, wishes things were different and wants to have a normal conversation with Westbrook. But he is well aware that everything is awkward between them due to the “manufactured” drama that exists.
From Durant's appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast (transcribed by The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry):
BS: Did you even have a moment with Westbrook that first game? Did you even acknowledge each other?
KD: Nah.
BS: That part’s strange to me.
KD: Yeah, I can’t lie. It is. Because we spent some time together. And I understand who I left to go to and what happened and all this stuff. And then on top of that, to me, I don’t really think he got a problem. I don’t really think it’s — but if you ask a man every single day about me, I would be pissed, too…So I think that’s what added to this feud or this beef that we have, which is all manufactured.
BS: That’s a very good answer. I almost believe it.
KD: It’s real.
BS: But at the All-Star Game, when you guys had the play, the way the teammates reacted I thought it was pretty funny. Because it felt like the whole thing made them feel awkward and they were happy that something happened, right?
KD: It was. It was awkward. Everybody see it. Everybody talked about it. The whole time that was the topic of discussion. It was ‘Who’s getting traded and are they talking to each other?’ It was corny. It’s tabloid, TMZ talk. It’s not even basketball. It’s not even what’s important in this game.
BS: There was an Instagram video at one point where you were entering the arena one of the days and he was ahead of you, but you weren’t talking. I’m like, ‘What is this, eighth grade?’
KD: It was awkward for me because I’m like — first of all, I got pride. We both got pride. So if I walk up to somebody and they just ignore me I would get really upset. I would get really mad. You know what I’m saying? I don’t really get mad at a lot. But that pisses me off. So I didn’t want to make it an awkward situation for him. I didn’t want to make it an awkward situation for me. So it was weird.
BS: So he probably feels the same way.
KD: Yeah, exactly.
BS: It sounds like you just need Kendrick Perkins to get you guys in a room together.
KD: Exactly. I never even told nobody this. I wanted to ask Russell, like, ‘How’s your family doing, man? How you feel?’ Stuff that normal people talk about. But there’s so many cameras watching and it’s ‘Oh, what’d they talk about? They didn’t look at each other. They didn’t even say hi.’ It was just making me so mad.
BS: You were, like, in a fishbowl.
KD: Yeah, it was like — everybody wants to know, every news outlet wanted to know. And it was, like, you want to know about two grown men’s conversation and their relationship.
Durant makes some great points here. He has never really said anything disparaging about Westbrook and the Thunder All-Star has also remained relatively mum about his former teammate. Durant also wants to be friendly with Westbrook but is just unsure how to go about it due to the constant scrutiny.
This scrutiny exists, like Durant says, because the media has helped to fuel their so-called feud as it provides one of the better narratives in the league. The storyline of Durant vs. Westbrook is factoring into the Thunder All-Star's MVP campaign, as he has put Oklahoma City squarely on his back and is doing everything (like averaging a triple-double) he can to lead the team. It is also likely why you are reading this as the soap opera-like drama between Westbrook and Durant is highly entertaining and interesting. It's like professional wrestling in a sense as Durant is viewed by many as the villain while Westbrook is the face character, aka the good guy.
From just a human standpoint though, let's hope the tension and awkwardness between Westbrook and Durant fades away at some point. At least that's what Durant wants to happen and you never know maybe one day, Westbrook will feel the same way as well.
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