The Warriors Sure Are Mad The Thunder Didn’t Celebrate Kevin Durant’s OKC Return Enough

Kevin Durant received a less-than-warm welcome from the Oklahoma City crowd in his first game back as a member of the Golden State Warriors. Durant was heckled by the OKC faithful for being soft and was serenaded with “cupcake” chants. After the game,his mother voiced her disappointment in the reception her son received from the Thunder fans, but the Warriors players seemed to steer into the skid as players wore cupcake shirts in the locker room after the game.

The players might have rallied around Durant and embraced the taunts, but the organization was reportedly upset with the way the Thunder handled his return. Durant and the Warriors are back in Oklahoma City on Monday, and while Durant traveled with the team he’s not expected to be on the bench for the game. However, being back in Oklahoma brings up feelings from the first meeting, where the Warriors were “furious and bewildered” by how the Thunder handled his return and the lack of public support the team gave Durant in his return, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

Sources say the Warriors were of the mindset that someone from ownership or management should have addressed the media on Durant’s behalf to help ease the tension upon his return.

The feeling is that Durant should have been acknowledged or thanked, in a news conference setting, for his nine years of excellent service.

While I understand wanting the best for your players, it seems a bit ridiculous being “furious” as an organization about how another team went about welcoming back a player that just left in free agency. No one in their right mind could have anticipated Durant receiving a warm welcome from the Oklahoma City fans, and nothing the Thunder did as an organization would have kept Durant from being booed and heckled. To think otherwise is absurd.

I could be wrong, but I can’t think of a time in which a team hosted a special news conference to thank a former player that was in his first game back, especially one that left the way Durant did in his prime in free agency. Eventually, yes, I’d hope the Thunder would honor Durant’s contributions to the organization, but to expect that in his first game back is wishful thinking.

This isn’t the first time it’s been reported that the Warriors have been upset with the treatment of one of their players, as they allegedly contacted Turner about Shaq’s constant attacks on JaVale McGee. That was more understandable than this, however, since Turner is an NBA partner and Shaq was going overboard in criticizing McGee. With the Thunder, it’s just the way it goes when a player leaves. It’s not ideal and in a perfect world fans would be happy with nine years out of a player and would welcome him back with open arms, but if you have watched sports ever in the past you would know that’s not the case.

What makes it even better is that the Thunder did offer a statement to the media about Durant, as general manager Sam Presti thanked him for his contributions to the organization.

So, to recap, the Warriors are mad that the Thunder didn’t do more to welcome back Durant, when the Thunder’s general manager gave a statement thanking him for what he meant to the organization’s growth. I’m not sure what more they expected the Thunder to do, but apparently that wasn’t enough.

Update: Steve Kerr responded to the story at the Warriors shootaround on Monday and said he had no idea what the story was talking about. Kerr called Sam Presti his friend and said the Thunder are a “first-class” organization, while also saying he doesn’t pay attention to a story without there being a name attached to quotes.

This kind of story is tricky, because there likely were people in the organization that voiced frustration to Haynes, but for Kerr and others the story reporting it as “the Warriors” being mad makes it seem like an organization-wide thing. After his comments on Monday, it’s clear that at least Kerr isn’t among those in the organization upset with how the Thunder handled Durant’s return.