Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical not only knows everything; he knows it long before anyone else does. With most NBA reporters, you have to take things like this with a grain of salt. But when Woj speaks, you listen. So when he said on The Vertical podcast Wednesday that Russell Westbrook may have had some qualms about Kevin Durant’s buddy-buddy relationship with a certain high-profile competitor, there’s probably something to that. Here’s a transcript of that part of his discussion with guest Jeff Van Gundy:
“And there’s no question, I know Russell [Westbrook] was bothered by — and some other teammates were too — of, like, there was some knowledge there that Draymond [Green] was in contact with Kevin [Durant] 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 and what are you doing hanging out with this guy? What’s the relationship? We’re trying to beat these guys.’”
Since Durant’s bombshell announcement, the NBA world has been trying to piece together just how this transpired, and rumors of a widening rift between the Thunder’s star duo have unsurprisingly come to the forefront. While Durant’s time in Oklahoma City has ended, the ripple effects are just beginning, which now appears will include Westbrook’s own departure from OKC, whether that happens via trade prior to the February deadline or in free agency next summer.
