The day following the epic trades made at the deadline by the Oklahoma City Thunder, HOOPSWORLD sat down with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to gauge their reaction to the loss of teammates Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, D.J. White, and Mo Peterson and the additions of the Celtics’ Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson plus the Bobcats’ Nazr Mohammed.

 

"It’s tough…tough," Durant said.  "It’s losing a brother, man.  Hurts.  I’m sure you can imagine how those guys in Boston felt.  That’s I feel.  You know, somebody so close to me…been through everything with me in this league.  Rookie season, the move from Seattle to Oklahoma City."

 

"We shared everything together.  It was much more than just playing basketball," he added.

 

"It’s very tough," said Westbrook, who then turned pragmatic.  "But you know, this is the business side of the game and something we gotta kinda figure out and work with."

 

NBA players know the drill.  Very few have the luxury of remaining with one team for their entire career.  Roster moves happen, but it doesn’t make the process any easier.  With as much time players spend together in practice, in locker rooms, on airplanes, in hotel rooms, etc., players form real bonds.

 

The trade hit Durant especially hard.

 

"You build relationships thinking guys are gonna be here for awhile, but at the same time, you know this is a business, anybody could be moved," Durant shared.  "That’s the nature of it, man.  It’s kinda bittersweet ‘cuz we’re getting a great guy in Kendrick, and also Nate and Nazr.  But to lose D.J., Nenad, Jeff and Mo Pete – guys I really loved in this locker room – it’s gonna be tough for us, but we just gotta lean on each other for support and we’ll be alright."

 

Durant is right.  It is a business.  The front office is always looking at ways to improve their team.  In the Thunder’s case, the clear missing piece was interior defense.  Without solid low-post defenders, the Thunder would always struggle against teams in the postseason that have those type of strong players.  OKC’s 36-21 record proves they can win regular season games, but playoffs are a different animal.  The consensus is now that defensive-minded Perkins and Mohammed, both 6’10" big-bodied threats, have joined the team, the team just got deeper.  Many believe their chances to compete in the Western Conference have increased by leaps and bounds.  Durant and Westbrook don’t want people to get carried away with those expectations.

 

"You know, everybody’s saying the same thing: ‘you got deeper’.  We’re gonna see.  That’s all I can say," Westbrook said.

 

"A lot of people have been saying that these last couple of days," agreed Durant.  "But we can’t just think that automatically since we got Perk and those guys that we’re gonna just compete automatically.  We gotta come out there and play and compete as hard as we can."

 

One real bonus is the playoff experience – championship experience even – Perkins and Mohammed bring to this team of mostly young players in their 20s (one exception: Nick Collison is 30).

 

"The guys coming in have been in the league for awhile, they know how to play," explained Westbrook. "They’ve been on championship teams, so they know what it takes.  So you definitely gotta be able to be comfortable with what they’re saying and be able to listen to everybody."

 

Durant got specific as to what the new guys bring to the Thunder.

 

"Adding those guys is really gonna help us in the areas where we lost games – offensive rebounding, keeping those big guys out of the paint.  We’ve had problems with that before.  But we’re gonna have some big guys that are gonna plug up the paint for us and help us out, so we’re excited about that opportunity."

 

"Perk is the guy that’s gonna bring the defensive toughness to our team.  Nate is gonna bring the energy, and Nazr’s gonna bring that veteran defensive presence," Durant added.  "So we do still gotta go out there and perform, but our team is looking a little better as far as defense is concerned.  We just gotta do a better job of making sure these guys are comfortably acquainted with what we do here and how we operate."

 

{AUTHOR_BOX}Making sure these new players are acclimated into the Thunder fold the right way is of great importance to Durant.  None of the new three players are as young as Durant and Westbrook (both 22), nor James Harden and Serge Ibaka (both 21).  Durant will toe that careful line of including Perkins and Robinson (both 26) and Mohammed (33) in the famously close group while giving them space.

 

"I heard Perk and Nazr are married with kids.  They’re a little older than us, and they don’t do the things we do off the floor.  We give guys their space this year as opposed to the year before.  Guys were starting to, not drift off, but do other things.  Guys are getting older.  They have more responsibilities, but we know that this is gonna happen sooner or later as far as our circle."

 

"Our circle is still tight," Durant continued.  "But if we go somewhere, it’s not gonna be nine of us anymore, it’s gonna be four or five of us.  We knew that was gonna happen, but you just gotta make sure those guys are comfortable here.  Great guys in the locker room, that’s what we need, and you know, we just move on from there.  We’re excited about having new guys, but we’re also kinda sad (that) we had to trade with those other guys.  Much luck to those guys, hopefully they do well."

 

Durant was with Green when the news of the trade came down.  He shared that personal moment.

 

"I was with him when they called.  Just gave him a big hug and told him I loved him, and that’s about all I could say.  I’d never been in that position before as far as being traded, especially him being…supposed to be, one of the core guys of our team…part of our nucleus.  For him to get traded like that, it was tough for us."

 

"I was surprised," Westbrook said.  "I didn’t know it was happening.  But I know he’ll be alright.  He’s in a good place now."

 

Obviously, there are worse teams in the league for Green to have landed.  Playing for the Boston Celtics, a team that won the NBA championship in 2008 and went to a Game 7 in the Finals last season, isn’t exactly a bad spot.  In fact, what a kick it would be if the Thunder faced the Celtics in a Finals match-up one day.

 

"I hope so, that’d be cool," Durant smiled.  "He (Green) knows his opportunity is there; he knows the situation.  I just hope that those guys welcome him with open arms.  I know they’re still a little upset about the Perk trade.  Hopefully, they don’t treat him a little like he’s not part of the group.  Hopefully, they bring him in and welcome him in and make him feel right at home.  I continue to pray for Jeff and all the other guys and make sure they do well."

 

For now, life goes on.  The leaders must lead.  It’s just the end of February with many games left to play to reach that goal of home court advantage in the playoffs.  The first priority is getting these new guys successfully integrated into the system.

 

"That’s where it falls on me and Russell," said Durant.  "But I think our defense has been good lately.  We’ve been playing hard and playing defense pretty well, so we continue the effort with our offense.  We’ve been clicking all season, and if we continue to do that, we’ll be fine."

 

"You can’t think negative about the situation.  We still got a season to play; we still gotta continue to get better.  We definitely gotta come out every night and be ready to play regardless who’s on our team and who we have now.  We gotta be ready to go," echoed Westbrook.

 

Impressive maturity Durant and Westbrook are showing in the wake of the impact trade.