Even if Thunder fans weren’t thrilled with Kevin Durant’s decision to bolt Oklahoma City for Golden State, his former team was gracious about the departure.
A day after Durant announced he’d join the Warriors, the Thunder released a classy statement thanking Durant for his time in OKC.
From Thunder Chairman Clayton I. Bennett:
“Kevin’s contributions 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.”
And Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti said this:
“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 chosen 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.”
For most of Durant’s free agency over the past weeks, it didn’t look like he’d return to Oklahoma City. However, that didn’t stop the Thunder from thanking him for his services and being grateful for the time he played there.
On top of that, Presti made some poignant comments on how fans will react to Durant’s news over the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
Sam Presti was asked how Oklahomans should feel about Kevin Durant. Pretty remarkable answer: pic.twitter.com/UObZVWTnG7
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 5, 2016
The key in this quote from Presti is the third paragraph:
“They should feel thankful, grateful. They should not — I can’t tell them not to be disappointed, but the one thing I would also say is the city should be incredibly proud of what they’ve helped crate for the Thunder… I think all of us, Kevin included, was a beneficiary of that approach and what’s in Oklahoma.”
Sadly, that’s not the case for most OKC fans on social media right now.
I wish Durant would have stuck around like the plastic this jersey was made out of pic.twitter.com/jhl7iLuy4e
— Jacob DeLaughter (@JacobDelaughter) July 4, 2016
https://twitter.com/rapfavnick/status/749996958987722752
Hopefully one day, Thunder fans will be as grateful and classy as Presti.
