Kevin Durant: Perceived feud with Russell Westbrook is 'fake drama'
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant says he "knows how it is going to be" when he returns to Oklahoma City for the first time since leaving the team in free agency, and adds that the ongoing storyline about his relationship with Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is "fake drama."
Durant left Oklahoma City after nine seasons to sign a two-year, $54.275 million contract with Golden State.
While Durant is averaging 25.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists a game, leading Golden State to the best record in the NBA, Westbrook has been torching the league to the tune of 30.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.2 assists with 25 triple-doubles this season.
The teams meet in Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
"I was doing an interview with someone and I used the word 'unselfish' to describe my teammates here [with] the Warriors and someone asked Russell the question, asked if he heard what I said about being unselfish and he phrased the question as if I was saying that the Thunder and the organization and the team was selfish," Durant told ESPN. "And once I heard that, I was like, 'They are trying to get in between this thing and make it bigger than what it is.'
Durant said he realized how the narrative around the relationship with his former teammate was going to be early in the season, saying it is "fake drama."
"Obviously Russell wasn't going to hear that [full] interview I had about me just talking about my teammates I have now and someone in Oklahoma City phrased it to him as if I was calling them selfish. It's that easy. It's that easy for the media to twist something up and for the media, you know, [to] make a feud between us."
- Scooby Axson
