Kevin Durant made his first trip back to Oklahoma City back in February. Apparently the Warriors are sore that the Thunder didn’t roll out a red carpet and fete Durant at that point. ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports that Golden State management was “furious and bewildered” at the lack of engagement from Thunder management before the Feb. 11 game. The Warriors apparently wanted a suit — Clay Bennett? Sam Presti? — to chill fans out before Durant made his return.
The Warriors are mad Oklahoma City doesn’t kiss Kevin Durant’s feet anymore
Good morning. We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
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Right, because all that prevented a beautiful reunion between Kevin Durant and the city he left was a good talking-to from an executive.
This is delusional. Durant made a decision that really worked out for the Warriors. That should be enough. To expect that he should not have to pay the piper on the consequences from that decision — in this case some “cupcake” taunting and bad vibes directed in his direction — is ludicrous. There were no reported security breaches and it’s not as though the Thunder broke any decorum rules (if any such rules exist). In fact Presti, the team’s GM, did thank Durant for his role in the Thunder’s rise, both in July and February.
Sorry, but you don’t get parties thrown in your honor when you leave a team as a free agent. The return should never be menacing or pose a threat, and there’s no evidence that what’s happened to Durant. So what does he really want here? That the Warriors are pushing this narrative on behalf of Durant will be the source of considerable mocking, and Golden State will have deserved it.
Scores Galore ...
DAL 111, BKN 104
BOS 99, PHI 105
PHX 95, DET 112
MIN 109, NOP 123
IND 91, TOR 116
POR 115, MIA 104
SAC 102, SAS 118
CLE 125, LAL 120
... And Plenty More
Paul Flannery talked to the Timberwolves about their timeline and their progress and their superstar, Karl-Anthony Towns. Many observers pegged them for the playoffs, but that was too much. This is the league’s youngest team — Brandon Rush is the designated vet — and it often shows. But with Towns’ work ethic and awesome skill, they’ll end this nasty playoff drought soon enough. Great read from Flannery. Go check it out.
Shout out to Damian Lillard for dropping 49 points in a dogfight with the Heat as the Blazers fight the Nuggets for the No. 8 seed in the West. Portland is a game back but up 2-1 in the tiebreaker race with the showdown game coming March 28.
The DNP-Rest Chronicles continue unabated: Cleveland sat its Big Three on Saturday for an ABC game against the Clippers. This is the second straight week in which ABC’s Saturday night game was ruined by DNP-Rest decisions. This is going to come to a head, and I imagine NBA team decision-makers aren’t going to love the outcome.
Speaking of which, I enjoyed J.R. Smith’s answer to this question about his reaction to “We want LeBron!” chants.
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The Bucks and Lakers had a scuffle (a tiff? a spat?) on Friday, and Luke Walton reserved his greatest lament for the Bucks staffer who shoved Brandon Ingram.
A lot of crazy stuff (one could call it “madness”) went down in the NCAA tournament on Sunday. Duke lost, Kentucky almost lost, UNC almost lost. Catch up with it all at our College Basketball hub.
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