Ex-teammate: Kevin Durant did not leave Thunder because of Westbrook

Many theories have been offered to explain why Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Golden State Warriors. One popular rumor suggested tension with Russell Westbrook was the biggest factor. An ex-teammate says that’s not the case.

Anthony Morrow played with the Thunder for two and a half seasons between 2014 and 2017, and he was there before and after Durant left. He talked with Ben Stinar of AmicoHoops.net about the situation and said Westbrook was not the reason for Durant’s departure:

“It wasn’t as much to do with Russ as the media made it look like at all, I know that for a fact.

“He wanted to build on his legacy, he wanted to win. He felt like we tried, 10 years, it ain’t work… I could tell you that that’s how he was thinking about that.”

That’s exactly how it seemed. Durant gave nine seasons to the Thunder, and they didn’t win a championship. He wanted to start racking up rings before it was too late, and that’s why he left. Now he’s going for his third championship in three seasons with Golden State, while the Thunder have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

And if you’re wondering about how Westbrook and Durant felt about each other, this quote should tell you a lot.