Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are giving one another the silent treatment.
We know the two talked before Durant decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. They just haven’t talked since, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young:
Westbrook is taking time not just to figure out his next steps, but also to lick his own wounds. Reports have come out suggesting Westbrook’s style of play influenced Durant to leave, though Durant publicly denied that in Las Vegas recently. The two have not spoken since Durant’s decision. Those close to Westbrook say he’s both angry and hurt not only by Durant’s decision to leave but also because Durant didn’t even call to tell him personally. Westbrook wasn’t prepared to be in this position — three weeks ago, like everyone else, he thought Durant was coming back. And he had to learn the hard way he wasn’t.
This isn’t exactly damning, but you would have thought one reached out to the other by now. The onus of communication, in fact, may be more on Durant. He’s the one who left, and he apparently didn’t even give Westbrook a courtesy call to let him now. It feels like he owed his teammate of eight years that much.
Perhaps that was just too difficult, though. He already needed to tell the Thunder he was leaving, and that must have been incredibly difficult in itself. Facing Westbrook that soon after making his decision might’ve been harder.
Still, if the two are actually friends, Durant should probably reach out to Westbrook eventually, if only to let him know that his play style wasn’t the driving force behind the exit—assuming, of course, that it wasn’t.
Or maybe these two won’t talk until they play each other next season, or until Westbrook makes his decision about whether to stay in Oklahoma City. After all, it’ll be much easier for Durant to reach out to Westbrook knowing he was traded because he informed the Thunder he couldn’t make a long-term commitment. Something about two peas in a pod or whatever.
