Report: Westbrook 'hurt' by Durant not calling to tell him he was leaving Thunder
It seems eight years of suiting up alongside Russell Westbrook wasn't enough to elicit a courtesy call from Kevin Durant to say that he was heading to Golden State.
It wasn't the four-time scoring champion joining the 73-win Warriors which caught Westbrook off guard, but the fact that he didn't even call him to tell him he was leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder that reportedly hurt him the most, according to ESPN's Royce Young.
Westbrook, as well as longtime teammate Nick Collison, reportedly made an impassioned plea to Durant at BOA Steakhouse in Los Angeles days before he was set to travel to the Hamptons for a series of interviews as an unrestricted free agent.
Related: Durant says Westbrook had nothing to do with decision to leave Thunder
The now ex-teammates haven't said a word to each other since the decision, which Durant can certainly understand why that would be the case.
"Obviously, our relationship probably won't ever be the same again," Durant recently told reporters in China. "But it's something that I wanted to do, and I expressed that to him. Hopefully he respected it."
Westbrook was reportedly under the impression that Durant was going to return to Oklahoma City for at least one more year, making his departure all the more disheartening. While the five-time All-Star has been relatively quiet as of late, he's apparently been in constant communication with the organization concerning his future, with the Thunder reportedly trying to lock him into a contract extension and make him the sole face of the franchise.
Related: Westbrook reportedly angered by Durant departure
OKC's urgency on that front stems from Westbrook becoming an unrestricted free agent himself at the end of the 2016-17 campaign. While he hasn't committed to staying for the long haul, Westbrook reportedly doesn't want management to trade him away, as he wants to be in uniform for the Thunder next season.