It has been seven years since Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City, but a lot of Thunder fans still haven’t forgiven him, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Durant heard plenty of boos as he scored 35 points in the Suns‘ win at OKC on Sunday, and Phoenix coach Monty Williams questioned why the ill will hasn’t eased up over the years.
“I’m still surprised at how many people; why they boo him here,” Williams said. “I don’t understand that. I think this fan base is one that I’ve respected for a long time and I get it. You lose a guy like Kevin, I think at some point, you have to appreciate what he meant to this organization.”
After being drafted while the franchise was still in Seattle, Durant blossomed into a star during his eight years in Oklahoma City. He led the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012 and was named MVP in 2014, but he alienated the city when he signed with the Warriors as a free agent after the 2015/16 season.
Durant said he has come to grips with the animosity and is focused on helping the Suns, who are now 6-0 in the games he has played since being acquired at the trade deadline.
“I understand it,” Durant said. “I meant so much to this community and just for me to leave like that. Early on, I didn’t get it, but I get that an NBA team is part of your community and players entrenched in your community. You feel closer to them. So, I get it. It’s still emotions and it’s still some people don’t like that I left this franchise, but it was more love this time than it has been in the past. I just focused on that.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- LeBron James believes the Lakers feel like a title contender after picking up the 10th win in their last 14 games on Sunday night, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. was able to shake up its roster at the trade deadline, then survived James’ absence due to a torn tendon in his right foot. “Even when I was out for the four weeks, I liked what we’ve been building, and I’m happy to be back in the mix,” he said.
- Changes could be coming to the Warriors this offseason, including the loss of potential free agent Draymond Green and general manager Bob Myers, but Stephen Curry believes the current core can be retained both on the court and the front office, relays Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think we can all acknowledge and keep it real that had we not won a championship last year, then those questions would have been a lot more … everyday, I guess?” Curry said in a radio show appearance Friday. “But when you prove that you can win, then you kind of hold off the dogs in terms of how hard it is to do what we’ve done and keep this together for as long as we have.”
- The Warriors are still hoping that Andrew Wiggins will return from his leave of absence in time for the playoffs, but time is running out for him to make an impact, observes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
I hope this doesn’t sound harsh or that there’s no understanding or compassion, but a leave of absence from work for practically anything that happens in life for more than a month should be about over, correct?
If there’s a tragic illness in the family how long can you sit next to the family member with cancer or heart attack or whatever it may be.
You sit and support for over a month and then I would think everyone around you would say, okay get back to work, what else can you do here? If that’s insensitive I apologize but I’m just thinking out loud.
Then if there’s something else like a personal grief on Andrew’s part, okay it’s been a month and a half, you’ve had time to deal with whatever has happened in your family or your finances or business.
You’ve put everything in place to right the ship or correct any Foul Play or had your say and did what you needed to do. It’s been almost 2 months, time to get back to work no matter what happened. I think that should be the case in Normal families right?
Whether it’s a death in the family, a serious illness, business loss, anything that could happen to ruin a guy’s life.
You do what you need to do and you get back to work after a month. Can’t sit around and mope or support or hold someone’s hand longer than that can you? They wouldn’t even expect it as the grieving party would they? Anyway my two cents.
It is a difficult subject to discuss without seeming either inhumane or conversely an overly soft pamperer. One thing is certain: most fans would not be allowed to take months away from their job and and keep their job and get paid on top of it. Anyway, for Wiggins’ sake whatever it is that is keeping him away this long had better rise to a level that most people can rationalize.
Well part of the equation is that the regular season games don’t really matter at all for the Warriors. They probably see it as better he takes his time now and comes back to the playoffs as close to 100% focused as possible.
I think it will only cross the line of “ridiculous” if he ends up missing playoff games.
@reflect These regular season games DO matter (this is not the old Warriors). Right now they are essentially playing playoff games to keep themselves out of the play-in slots. Also, do you think Wiggins can just show up for the playoffs after missing 2 months and play at the level they need? He was already playing at a mediocre level since returning from injury even before going on this extended leave.
Wiggins could come back with a attitude to play aggressive and prove he is a good player.
Ofc they matter
GSW no longer holds its own fate on a non play in spot entering the last week *** Actually scratch that since the LA’s are playing each other 3-0 DOES guarantee that today (Both LA’s do hold tiebreakers on GSW)
Every win matters today immensely
If the rumors are true he has a reason to take an extended period to ponder exactly what life really is all about, and who your real friends are.
Is he still getting paid?
Would he be out this long if he didnt have extension?
Does he feel he gave a team too big of a discount?
Getting back to normal routine could be the best remedy for Wiggins. Let’s Go!!
All you Warriors “fans” should be ashamed of yourself. Life is about more than a game. Pathetic. Hope Andrew takes whatever time he needs and can come back ready to play.
“I can’t take 2 months off MY job!” Yeah well you can’t dunk a basketball either or defend against top players in the NBA.
So it makes you less of a person because you cant dunk or defend in the nba? You are wack pal. You are one if the the top 3 commenters on this site right behind sillivan.
No, what’s wack is comparing your situation to that of a professional athlete. You don’t have the same job no matter how much 2k you play. So stop trying to compare them. It makes you look really stupid.
Curry says “if they knew what was wrong they
Would fix it.” From a no ice basketball fan I can say it’s simply the behind the uneccessary back passes to nobody, the sloppy cross court passes that go out of bounds, the rushed bad shots and complete lack of defense.