Kevin Durant broke his silence to send a message to Stephen A. Smith.
After Smith reported that Durant didn’t care too much for Golden State coach Steve Kerr, as well as details of Durant’s interaction with Russell Westbrook before joining the Warriors in 2016, Durant reached out to Smith to say what he was reporting was bull, and Smith relayed that message on air during Wednesday’s “First Take.”
“Kevin Durant reached out, said it’s BS what I’m saying, you know. I should check my sources, you understand. And that’s all he said,” Smith said. “He did not elaborate, but I want to make sure I’m fair because I did emphasize that I did not speak to him.”
Smith, who did say he didn’t speak with Durant for his reporting, said he had more than two sources providing him the information on each topic.
“I’m gonna be fair to him because I genuinely like him — I’m gonna be fair anyway,” Smith said. “But the point is, he said it was BS, it’s not true what I’m saying, and I’m telling you I’ve been told this by numerous people.”
“Multiple people are lying on you, KD, if that’s BS,” Smith added.
Either Durant keeps a close eye on the show, or someone close to him alerted him what was being said.
Smith reported that Durant and Kerr didn’t exactly get along during Durant’s three seasons with Golden State.
“Kevin Durant did not have the greatest relationship with Steve Kerr,” Smith said. “He wasn’t too fond of Steve Kerr at all. I don’t know the particulars, but I do know that.”
The bombastic ESPN personality also reported that the night before Durant went to the Hamptons, where in 2016 he crystallized his agreement with the Warriors, he had dinner in Los Angeles with Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison and looked Westbrook in the eye to tell him he was staying in Oklahoma City. Durant, according to Smith, then texted Westbrook the news instead of calling him, and the way Durant handled the situation is said to be the source of friction between the two.
Other than some vague Instagram posts, Durant hasn’t been heard from since agreeing to a max contract with the Brooklyn Nets. But he clearly cares about what’s being said about him, and he didn’t stay silent.