Kevin Durant reportedly spoke with Draymond Green and other Golden State Warriors players about joining their team long before free agency began, and that did not sit well with Durant’s former teammates.
On his podcast “The Vertical Pod” this week, Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that Russell Westbrook and other Oklahoma City Thunder players were bothered by Durant’s friendly relationship with Green.
“I know Russell (Westbrook) was bothered by it, and some other teammates were too,” Woj said, as transcribed by Chuck Chaney of Thunder Digest. “There was some knowledge there that Draymond was in contact with Kevin all season long and they’re in a playoff series and I know there was some conversation around the Thunder team of. ‘Hey man, this guy kicked Steven Adams in the nuts twice in this series. What are you doing hanging out with this guy? What’s the relationship? We’re trying to beat these guys.'”
Warriors players reportedly texted Durant all throughout their record-breaking 73-win season, despite one of them — who has now been traded — claiming the team didn’t want Durant. There was a lot of hostility during the Western Conference Finals after Green kicked Adams in the groin (video here), so you can understand why Durant’s former teammates were irritated that K.D. had been buddy-buddy with Green for months.
While fans were shocked when Durant announced he was signing with Golden State, we know the Thunder front office saw it coming. The same is likely true of the players.
