Report: Kevin Durant felt disrespected with Warriors

Even in good times, the Warriors cracked jokes at Kevin Durant’s expense. In bad times, they said far worse about him.

Durant was never going to win in Golden State, not the way he wanted to.

No matter how many championships he won, he was never going to sway Warriors fans loyal to Stephen Curry. Durant was never going to curry favor from a larger audience convinced he took the easy route to a ring. By the end, even Durant’s own teammates were expressing frustration he was taking so long to return from injury.

Yet, when his team needed him most, Durant played in the NBA Finals to help Golden State and suffered a catastrophic injury he’ll carry to the Nets.

Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:

When asked about all of the negative things that transpired with Durant and the Warriors over the past year, a source close to Durant said: “All that showed a lack of respect for one of the greatest players to put that uniform on and the fact that he took all that abuse and still put his career on the line to help them win.”

Shortly after Durant left the Thunder for the Warriors in 2016, a report emerged Durant was frustrated playing with Russell Westbrook. It looks like Durant’s camp is following a similar playbook for controlling the narrative now.

Expect Durant to sound nicer publicly when he explains his move to Brooklyn, but he’s getting his message out now.

Players experiencing so much individual and team success don’t just bolt like that so quickly. Something went wrong for Durant in Golden State, and this explanation rings true in trying to understand how Durant felt.