Kevin Durant stunned the NBA world in 2016 when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder and joined the Golden State Warriors.
A ten-time NBA All-Star, Durant made much use of his time playing alongside a Warriors team that was guided by Steve Kerr and starred Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green.
Durant won two NBA Championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards.
Last summer, Durant left the Warriors and joined the Brooklyn Nets with friend Kyrie Irving.
While many experts expect Durant and Irving’s Nets to compete heavily in the NBA’s Eastern Conference next season with the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and current reigning NBA Champs, the Toronto Raptors, the term: ‘what if’ can still be applied to Durant and Russell Westbrook.
What if Westbrook and Durant stayed together and competed for an NBA Championship?
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Although neither have publicly stated whether there is still unsettled issues post-Durant’s departure. However it is believed that Durant and Westbrook’s relationship soured when Durant stunned Oklahoma City and joined the rival Warriors in 2016.
“They got to sit down and get to the root of it,” NFL Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders told Ryan Hollins and Brendan Haywood during a recent appearance on the Opinionated 7 Footers Podcast.
“The food is what you see and what you hear. Let’s get to the root of it. Why do you feel like that or what’s troubling you about me because, deep down I love you and I have no animosity.”
Sanders knows a thing or two about free agency. The Atlanta Falcons’ fifth pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, Sanders left Atlanta in free agency to join Jerry Rice, Steve Young and the San Francisco to win a ring just five years into his career.
While some believe that both Sanders and Falcons wide receiver, Andre Rison having some sort of rift played a part in Sanders’ decision, you can’t argue his results. The NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year and an eight-time Pro Bowler, Sanders won two Super Bowl rings: one with the San Francisco 49ers and one with the Dallas Cowboys.
In Sanders’ first game against his former Atlanta Falcons squad, the defensive back, punt return specialist and sometimes wide receiver actually got into a fight on the field with Rison.
While Westbrook and Durant haven’t gotten into any fist fights, Sanders compared his issues with Rison to Durant and Westbrook. “I think it’s the same thing,” Sanders told Brendan Haywood and Ryan Hollins.
“Two brothers that came up together, want to do it together and then one dipped and the other one didn’t know how to handle it because he thought: ‘You my brother. You should at least told me. We should have conversated about it…’ I feel that they dealt with the same thing. But they’re both so large, and they are both so successful nobody is going to humble themselves and sit down. Somebody gotta be the big brother.”
An Oklahoma City Thunder legend, last summer, Russell Westbrook was shipped to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster trade for All-Star point guard, Chris Paul. The deal has worked out for both parties this season.
Durant is on the mend from his Achilles injury from last season and will likely make his debut with the Nets next season.
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Deion Sanders Makes Mind-Blowing Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant Comparison