Kevin Durant’s decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder and join the Golden State Warriors this summer shocked many of his closest allies.
While Thunder fans, coaches, and executives were hit hard by the news, Durant’s teammates were perhaps the ones hit the hardest.
Nick Collison, who’s known as being one of Durant’s closest friends and teammate in Oklahoma City for 10 years, did what he could to try keeping Durant with the Thunder. But to no avail, Durant ultimately was swayed to join Golden State.
Collison, in an interview with HoopsHype, gave his thoughts on the situation:
Big changes during this offseason.
Nick Collison: Yeah, a lot of new faces. The attitude in training camp has been really good, very positive. There’s a lot of young guys that are really hungry. We’ve got a lot of guys that know how to play. So it’s been a little easier that you might think plugging guys in because these guys have a really good understanding of the game.
No more Kevin Durant as a teammate. How did you learn about his decision?
NC: He texted me… Well, first I heard that he was leaning that way and then he texted me that morning before he announced his decision.
How did you feel?
NC: I was disappointed, for sure. We played together for a long time, we came a long way from where we started. So yeah, it’s disappointing. It’s always tough when teammates leave, that’s the way the business works. It was a different thing with Kevin because of how much time we spent together, and obviously because of the great player he is.
With the memories of Kevin Durant behind him, Collison has now shifted his focus to the upcoming season, where he hopes to help the Thunder prove its doubters wrong. He praised the new faces on the roster, and seems excited for the campaign to begin.
Nick Collison: Yeah, a lot of new faces. The attitude in training camp has been really good, very positive. There’s a lot of young guys that are really hungry. We’ve got a lot of guys that know how to play. So it’s been a little easier that you might think plugging guys in because these guys have a really good understanding of the game.
