When Paul George leveraged his way out of Oklahoma City last offseason and onto the Los Angeles Clippers, many fans and media remarked that George’s parting with Russell Westbrook seemed to be on friendlier terms than when Kevin Durant left the Thunder three years earlier.
Unlike when Durant left, of course, Westbrook also exited Oklahoma City later in the 2019 NBA offseason with his trade to the Houston Rockets.
Since then, both All-Stars have gone out of their way to express appreciation for the other on the court and as a teammate. To that end, after Westbrook’s Rockets (19-9) defeated George’s Clippers (21-9) on Thursday night in Los Angeles, Westbrook hugged George on his way off the court and said this postgame about his relationship with George:
PG’s my boy. We still talk and communicate. Nothing changed. Obviously we’re on separate teams now. When we get in between those lines, we compete
But I still stay in contact with him and check on his family, and vice versa.
After my question for Russell Westbrook about Paul George, Russ gets into a pretty testy exchange with a reporter who said that he and Kevin Durant’s split with the Thunder wasn’t amicable or on good terms.#Rockets #Clippers pic.twitter.com/AT67tYRIxa
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 20, 2019
After saying that, a reporter in the Staples Center locker room mentioned that Westbrook’s split with George appeared to be on more amicable terms than with some of his other teammates in the past.
It led to this exchange:
Reporter: How was the parting between you guys amicable? It seemed like you guys are on good terms now. It hasn’t always been that way…
Westbrook: Who?
Reporter: You and PG.
Westbrook: What do you mean, hasn’t always been that way? What are you saying?
Reporter: With other players who have left the Thunder when you were on the team.
Westbrook: Who?
Reporter: With KD.
Westbrook: That’s not true. You don’t even know what you read.
HoopsHype has an aggregated summary of various reports regarding the Westbrook-Durant relationship since the latter’s July 2016 departure in free agency for Golden State. (Durant left the Warriors to sign with the Brooklyn Nets this past offseason, though he’s yet to play with the Nets as he continues to rehabilitate a torn Achilles.)
Even after Thursday’s interview officially concluded, the exchange between Westbrook and the reporter regarding Durant continued.
You tried. Don’t try that [expletive] with me, though. Been there, done that.
You’re trying to make me the bad guy. I’m not the bad guy. I’m not. Good try. I’ve got no bad relationships with none of my teammates. Ever. There’s no proof, ever. Nowhere. All y’all do is make up [expletive]. Don’t try.
It was the testiest exchange of the 2019-20 season to date between Westbrook and a media member. Though Westbrook in the past has had occasional friction with reporters, the 2017 MVP indicated upon his arrival in Houston this offseason that he was turning over a new leaf.
Russell Westbrook says with a smile that “next question” has been dropped from his repertoire. “I’m in a new place in my life.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 27, 2019
To this point, he’s followed through on his word, as the interactions between Westbrook and media members in his new city of Houston have been extremely cordial for nearly three months.
Thursday’s exchange in Los Angeles was a clear exception to the rule, seemingly because frustration had built up in Westbrook for some time regarding the broader narratives of his relationship with Durant.
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