Kevin Durant. AP
In the wake of Kevin Durant’s decision to leave for the Golden State Warriors, no one would be surprised if the Oklahoma City Thunder brass would express animosity toward their former superstar.
READ: Kevin Durant joins Stephen Curry, Warriors
Instead, team owner Clay Bennett and general manager Sam Presti took the high road and expressed their gratitude for everything Durant gave the organization.
The team executives released classy statements on their former player’s departure on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), via a tweet from ESPN’s Mark J. Spears.
Thunder statements on Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/QMEHsKiwhU
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 4, 2016
“Kevin’s contribution to our organization during his nine years were profound, on and off the court. He helped the Thunder grow and succeed in immeasurable ways and impacted the community just the same. We thank him for his leadership, his play, and how he represented Oklahoma City and the entire state of Oklahoma,” Bennett said.
Presti penned a heartfelt message of his own:
“Kevin made an indelible mark on the Thunder organization and the state of Oklahoma as a founding father of this franchise. We can’t adequately articulate what he meant to the foundation of this franchise and our success. While clearly disappointing that he has to move on, the core values that he helped establish only lead to us thanking him for the many tangible and intangible ways that he helped our program,” OKC’s GM and executive vice president wrote.
The statements are a contrast to the tasteless letter put out by Cleveland Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert, when a similar situation occurred involving LeBron James’ exit in 2010. James, however, returned to the team and led the franchise to its first NBA title last month.
Durant was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the second overall pick in 2007 before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City. The team was in shambles that time, but with the help of young promising talents—Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka—the franchise crawled out of mediocrity and flourished into a legitimate title contender in recent years.
Despite his departure, Durant informed Presti of his decision through a phone call, before announcing his move to the world via the Player’s Tribune.
He dutifully stayed in OKC when he could have explored free agency in 2010, and was a tremendous ambassador for the team. Khristian Ibarrola
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