Loyalty is a tricky concept when it comes to the NBA. Players can be traded away or waived on an organization’s whim, but when they leave of their own volition, they are often universally vilified.
It happened to LeBron when he first left Cleveland, but in that city’s defense, he brought a lot of that ire on himself with the disastrously ill-conceived “Decision,” which subsequently led to widespread uniform immolation.
Kevin Durant similarly broke everyone’s hearts in Oklahoma City when he joined the Warriors in 2016. But instead of roasting marshmallows over his old jersey, his former franchise is doing something far more petty and passive-aggressive.
Dozier wore No. 35 in camp with the Mavs. He asked for it with OKC, and they gave it to him.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 17, 2017
The Dozier in question here is one P.J. Dozier, an un-drafted rookie who recently signed a two-way contract with the Thunder. For his part, he’s trying to steer clear of the controversy.
PJ Dozier says he wears No. 35 for his second cousin, the late Reggie Lewis, who played for the Celtics. Also wore it in preseason w/Dallas. pic.twitter.com/JbgIzqLKB7
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) October 17, 2017
Still, it’s hard not to see this for precisely what it is on the part of Durant’s former team. Just ask Durant’s agent.
All class https://t.co/fHzWSt3qRc
— Ace (@richkleiman) October 17, 2017
This type of trolling isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Just when we thought it was dying down, KD and Russ helped ramp it all back up, and just in time for the start of the season. Given Durant’s thin-skinned nature, we can probably expect a response in kind.
