Back in September, former Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins said on The Vertical podcast with Woj that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook “never really valued each other like they should have,” adding that “they’re gonna regret that” eventually. Perkins, who is still friends with both players, also said that it bothered him that they no longer were talking. On Wednesday, he attended the Thunder’s shootaround and their 116-105 victory over the New York Knicks, then told The Oklahoman he thinks Durant and Westbrook still “really care about each other.”
I don’t think it’s a real beef there. I think it’s just more so maybe feathers being ruffled, just feelings being hurt. I don’t think either one of them got hard feelings. I done been around them for going on four, five years – numerous group messages to dinners to card games to whatever – and I know both of them really care about each other. And I think more so it’s the outside world that kind of blow it up and keep adding fuel to the fire. If you look back on it, either one of them never commented and said nothing negative about either one of them. I think in due time, they’ll mend. I was just talking to Russ, and Russ don’t have any hard feelings toward KD, and KD feel the same way. So I think in due time, they’ll get back on point where they’re talking again and get that relationship back.
This jibes with Durant saying that the media has made this supposed “feud” bigger than it really is and Westbrook downplaying the whole thing before they played last Saturday. Of course, the Golden State Warriors star and the Oklahoma City star also yelled at each other on the court, which did little to calm everybody down about this storyline.
As you’re surely aware, Durant and Westbrook will team up again Sunday in the All-Star Game in New Orleans. They also will practice together Saturday. If Perkins is right, perhaps they’ll find the time in their busy schedules to have a conversation.
