Kevin Durant has not been well received by Thunder fans when he has returned to Oklahoma City as a member of the Golden State Warriors, but he is hoping all of that can be put aside for the sake of a former teammate later this year.
On March 20, the Thunder are planning to retire the No. 4 jersey of big man Nick Collison, who spent all 15 of his NBA seasons with the franchise — four of which came when the Thunder were the Seattle SuperSonics. Durant told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski over the weekend that he plans to attend the event.
“That group was so special, that whole group from 2010 until I left there, it was special,” Durant said. “It’s about time for us to let go of all that extra stuff, and just come together — especially around this time, because it’s Nick.”
Thunder fans feel that Durant abandoned them to follow the easy road to a championship, and Russell Westbrook has done nothing to convince them otherwise. However, there was some talk over the summer that Durant might consider returning to the Thunder the way LeBron James went back to Cleveland, but Wojnarowski noted that neither side is interested in that.
Durant insists he still has nothing but love for OKC, even if that is hard to believe with some of the infamous tweets he sent not long after he left. Even still, time tends to heal all wounds. Collison is one of the most respected players in franchise history, so perhaps Thunder fans will appreciate his contributions enough to let Durant off the hook for one night.
