As the sports media landscape keeps evolving, some of the more interesting tidbits are now being revealed on podcasts.
There is none better in the NBA than Adrian Wojnarowski’s The Vertical. His guest on Friday was Kendrick Perkins, the longtime Oklahoma City Thunder teammate of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Perkins, who notably played peacemaker between Durant and Westbrook from 2010-15, really laments the reasons their relationship had a falling out.
“I think to me what happened with Russ and KD, I think they never really valued each other like they should have,” Perkins said. “Not saying they didn’t value as in they didn’t like each other. But what I’m talking about is, I don’t think Russ ever realized and said, ‘Hey, I got Kevin Durant on my side. We can take over this league’. Never thought KD did the vice-versa, ‘Hey, I got Russell Westbrook on my side’. You’ve got two of the top five players in the NBA on the same team. And I just think they never valued each other. And trust me, I’m telling you this right now: When they think about this 10 years later, they gonna regret it.”
Perkins reiterated none of their drama was about off the court stuff. Durant and Westbrook would play cards together, message back and forth about the Redskins and Cowboys in a group chat, laugh and joked. To Perkins, this was all about on the court and the pair of all-stars not appreciating each other.
“I think what it was was this,” started Perkins. “Russ actually did value KD as being the player that he is. But like what I had to explain, and what I explained to KD, is that what you have to understand about Russ: At the time (he) wasn’t getting the credit on the same level as KD. But he had the potential. See what the whole thing was. It never really got into those two guys getting in the way of each other. It always the outside that got in the way of both of them. You see what I’m saying?”
“Family, people around them, agents?” Wojnarowski chimed in.
“It was always the outside,” said Perkins. “It was always a controversy of whose team it was. Why it just can’t be both of y’alls team? How bout Russ go for 50 one night and you go for 60 the next night?”
Perkins had no problems with Durant leaving for the Warriors. Players change teams these days in professional sports. That’s the nature of the beast. But what is peeving Perkins is that Westbrook and Durant aren’t on speaking terms. Perkins threatened he’s going to text both Russ and KD and put them in a group message.
“With them right now, that bothers me,” Perkins said. “I know both of them, they care for each other, and love each other, despite the decision that KD made. With me reading an article saying they haven’t talked to each other, that bothers me.
“All of a sudden, Russ caught up to KD, and they was both on kind of the same level as far as just being up there as the elite icons of the league. I just think that they will have some type of regrets in the next 10 years or when they they’re done, that they couldn’t handle it better.”
Get your popcorn, fireworks and alcohol ready: Thunder-Warriors on Nov. 3 at Oracle Arena is going to be thrilling television.