Kevin Durant’s brother apparently not a fan of Oklahoma City (or is he?)
This little topic came up in the comments Saturday afternoon and we talked about it: Does Kevin Durant’s brother hate Oklahoma City? And of course the sinister, don’t-talk-about-that underlying question: Does that mean KEVIN DURANT hates Oklahoma City?
“What, why?” asks the non-comment reading Daily Thunder patron. Well, because of some tweeting of course. What else would start a controversy nowadays? (Some coarse language ahead. I apologize in advance.)
(Somebody asked why Tony was still in OKC): “it sure as hell aint nothing hur ( in my @boozye and the rest of Oklahoma City voice)” [via]
“i miss my big sis @BettyBoopEyes i wish i was at home with yall instead of Oklahoma Shitty” [via]
shit chillin in wack ass OKC u get my DM [via]
Man this security guard in the mall said its mall policy that u can’t wear a hood on ur head in the mall only in OKC [via]
We talked about it. Thought about it. Marinated, stewed over and chewed on it. I kind of decided it wasn’t worth getting anyone riled up over, but then again, is it? (Obviously it is, because here I am writing about it.) I envisioned KD being pissed that he’s having to sit and answer questions about some stupid tweets his brother put up. I pictured Tony Durant feeling stupid and just awful that he put his brother in this position. But then again this isn’t some wild Jenni Carlson/Jim Traber speculation based on a couple weather comments. Tony actually refers to Oklahoma City as (again, pardon the language), “Oklahoma Shitty.” That’s not just “It’s hot in Oklahoma exclamation point!!! Well, he did have a few things to say about the weather:
okc weather is terribke right now this is “honey lets get a movie” weather [via]
The sun finally came out in Okc for the first time in a week [via]
But I couldn’t shake it – my instinct was that this is important. So I asked him: Do you hate OKC? And he he promptly and politely responded:
no OKC is great I love it here…im just a little homesick that OKC is my home
But the door has been opened for controversy already. And it’s the hardest one to close. People are going to assume Tony had his mind changed for him and was told to straighten up. That’s fine if you want to be like that. But I’m believing the guy. Tony Durant is just a 20-something year old kid living away from home that would probably prefer at times to be home with friends and family. Not that hard to understand. And we all say (or maybe tweet) dumb things at times. We’re human. It happens.
Besides, Tony Durant is NOT Kevin Durant. KD has always been very adamant that he loves OKC and even went as far to say he wants to spend his whole career here. He’s been very, very clear about it. I have no reason to doubt him. But I recognize that it is just slightly off-putting that KD’s brother and roommate would be so negative toward the city he plays basketball in. And also, Tony Durant played from OKC’s summer league team too… shouldn’t he kind of be a little more diplomatic about his feelings about the only place that gave him a shot at an NBA career?
One solid theory is that these negative comments started AFTER a mall security guard apparently told Tony he couldn’t wear a hood inside. Perhaps that offended him. Perhaps he was bothered. Perhaps as a result, he was frustrated with the different culture of Oklahoma City and it all came crashing down to the point where he missed home a whole lot. Who knows. But that makes sense to me. I mean, during the summer, Tony was positive about OKC:
Lookin for good girl out here….and DC is not the spot…going to OKC soon can’t wait!!!!
Couldn’t wait to get to wack ass Oklahoma Shitty. In fact, there are multiple non-derogatory comments about OKC scattered throughout. But the point remains: Kevin Durant’s brother who is obviously very close to him, apparently is not to high on this place right now. Maybe it’s over a little event that happened at the mall. And after Tony’s response, I’m thinking that’s pretty spot on.
So there you go. Done and done. Nothing to see here, clean it up and let’s go home. BUT… it’s also a little disconcerting that when KD is a free agent, Tony is likely to be in his ear about their hometown, since he obviously favors it. Forget OKC. Let’s go home. Let’s go to DC. Come on… let’s get out of here. But then again, who wouldn’t favor their hometown a little, especially if you weren’t the one playing basketball for a living? KD obviously isn’t that attached to Washington D.C. though. He was recruited by Maryland and Virginia, but decided to travel across the country to play his college ball in Austin, TX.
I know some are going to interpret this as also being Kevin Durant’s actual hidden feelings about Oklahoma City, but I actually don’t. I don’t take KD to be a liar. I think he’s being forthright and honest when he says he loves it here. I’m not going to make any “Haha he lives off his brother” jokes (but, those are for the taking), but if I was just holed up in a apartment/house, not really doing much all day and having to watch my baby brother turn into an NBA mega-star, then I’m not sure I’d enjoy OKC too much either sometimes. It’s a WONDERFUL place to live, but it’s not Chicago, it’s not DC and it’s not New York. There aren’t clubs and bars everywhere to go to and if it’s not Friday or Saturday, the night is pretty quiet.
It’s true – we have a bit of an inferiority complex around here. We have listened to people crap on our city and state for a full year over the Seattle thing. People tell us we’re dumb and don’t deserve a team and that our players will just leave us. This is probably every day bullplop to other cities, but we’re new to this and for us, we get defensive about anything negative OKC. I don’t know why, but we do. Honestly, at times, even I do and I try and be as unemotional about that stuff as I can be because I hear it more than most.
But you know what, it doesn’t even matter what Tony Durant thinks. It matters what KEVIN Durant thinks. And right now, all signs to he thinks pretty highly of this place. At least this is what I tell myself while rocking back and forth grasping my KD replica jersey.
Now of course, Tony is protecting his tweets. But I’ve asked him about it and he clarified. Of course, some are going to still speculate and wonder. Which is THE WORST thing you can do to Internet folk. Give them any chance to speculative and assume. Wild speculation is the diesel fuel for our big rig. This is hopefully one huge non-story. But it could also be the underbelly of our greatest fear. Lord help us all if it is.
(Expletives ahead, apologies)
If you want a twitter controversy, try being a Kansas City Chiefs fan today like me. Last night on Twitter, Larry Johnson called out his head coach, called one of his fans a fag, and waved his paycheck in front of all his fans’ faces. Then told the KC media to ‘get your faggot asses out of here,’ at a press conference today.
Being a Chiefs fan myself, I say cut LJ as soon as possible.
LJ pulled a Ron Burgundy? Awesome!
I transplanted to Kansas City as a Raiders fan when I was in 8th grade… learned to hate annoying Chiefs fans pretty quickly (sorry no offense intended). So, to me, the best narative from this entire sports year (other than the developing Thunder) has been the Chiefs implosion… good stuff!
I bet Tony likes OKC just fine. He’s homesick and resents being anywhere that isn’t home.
Going from DC to OKC is a culture shock. It just is. I’m surprised we haven’t seen the adjustment be worse.
I live here and I love this place. It’s my home. But concerning my fellow citizens, there are two things that get on my nerves more than anything else. The first is how ridiculous our local college football fans are, with an IQ of 12 and the vocal propensity of Rush Limbaugh. The second is that we have a big inferiority chip on our shoulders.
It seems to me that we would rather have someone slap our mother than to have a bad experience in our city as hate the place as a result.
KD chose to attend UT. That was not even close to home, but he felt at home there and loved it. UT is much closer to OKC culture than DC is. I’m betting KD feels at home here too. But that still doesn’t mean that we won’t lose him someday. If Cleveland can lose LeBron James (not saying they will, but he sure doesn’t reassure me that he’ll stay), then any team can lose any player at any time. LeBron can win there, he can get paid there, he’s a hometown hero there. OKC is not so different from Cleveland, and no player on our roster outside Etan Thomas is from our area.
Athletes do what they need to do in their minds, and that’s how it should be. I don’t see how being a success in your hometown and never leaving is a goal that proves anything. It may endear you to a fanbase, which could help your career, but that’s not guaranteed.
If we’re doing our jobs as fans, then players will look back at their time in OKC and remember our support, no matter if they were here for a single summer league, or a 10 year career.
@Jax
Good post
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Very good points
It’s easy for the media to just assume all future stars want to leave a small market city as soon as possible. This is true in the NBA (enter Lebron) or MLB (Zach Greinke) and other sports. The media usually thinks the players only think about money and where they can get the biggest contract/edorsements. Sometimes though, this is the case.
We as fans know that our small market cities can be very enjoyable, and that they do not in fact suck as portrayed in the mainstream. We like clinging to our sports heroes, making logical reasons why those players will not leave, and how the stars have grown attached to our city.
Ultimately, it comes down to the stars and what they think is in their best interest. But when stories like this pop-up, it always seems to generate the (Bill Simmons-esque) stories of how player is going to jump ship as soon as possible. Hopefully KD decides to stay in OKC, but I wouldn’t take this story as an indication leaning towards staying or leaving.
Another thing to keep in mind is that great players bring the game and excitement to themselves. Lebron would be Lebron no matter where he was drafted. The Miami Heat had nothing to show for their franchise before Wade, and now it’s a hot FA destination. KD is that kind of player. He’s going to get the support and money wherever he goes. He’s going to be the kind of transcendent player on a well run team that takes a team places and makes other players want to join him.
Tony has been very friendly through this. Even said after I asked, “No problem buddy!!! hows ur day goin?”
I think this whole thing got blown up a little and he didn’t mean for it to.
Good post Royce. This is the kind of sports reporting we should be known for, not Trabor-esque rants. This was good analysis with the other party getting their words delivered without bias. This is why I love this site.
I agree. He just wasn’t thinking everything through. Now he is covering his tail and he shouldn’t have to. We are not going to run him outta town like Traber.
Here’s the thing… I’ve lived all over the western half of the United States, and I can say with some degree of confidence that OKC really does suck compared to other major metros in terms of food, culture, fun, weather, outdoor activities…. you name it.
It’s not perfect, but it has it’s selling points and it’s getting better every minute. There is no point in getting all defensive about outside perceptions of OKC because if you like it, that’s all that matters. And eventually people will warm up to it.
Just enjoy having an NBA team, buy tickets, go to games, and make sure you represent the city well. The rest is just silliness and speculation and paranoia. To me it’s like watching an insecure girl friend freak out and get jealous over nothing… it just makes her (and in this case the entire city) look less attractive.
[Post removed for douchebaggery]
@criminy
One of my favorite parts about this site has been the lack of annoying people like you that come to talk trash and then disappear. Please don’t ruin this site for me.
Oh no… first Tony Durant and now criminy! Although I do appreciate the clever play on words…. (shitty sounds like city…) I feel your entire post is a little too centered around things going in and out of the rectum…
I should add that OKC is also better than some places I’ve lived. It’s all a matter of personal preference and if Tony prefers a big, active and exciting city like DC, then I can’t blame him. I’m pretty sure that for the first three years I lived here my mantra was “I just have to finish school so that I can get the hell outta here.” But that’s because I prefer big cities like NY and San Fran, or really chill places like Flagstaff AZ or California’s central coast or Sand Diego that have great outdoors experiences on tap.
But Kevin Durant isn’t like me. By his own description he is a home body who would rather stay in and just chill out…. or take a trip somewhere. OKC is perfect for a guy like him, life is relaxed and easy to manage, homes are cheap, neighborhoods are safe, people won’t be prone to bug the crap out of him at every turn and people are courteous.
Durant clearly shares values with many Oklahomans. Maybe Tony doesn’t. Who cares.
@B-RY
Great point. Just because they are brothers doesn’t mean they are going to think the same. I kind of tried to make that point. Everyone is going to assume KD’s feelings were the same, but that may not be the case at all.
Oh… and stuff
@Royce
I think you stated it well enough in your post, which was thoughtful as usual. People that get all paranoid about Durant leaving are doing a lot to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy in my opinion. I’m glad you are not willing to feed that monster.
From KD’s Twitter:
“KevinDurant35 Thank u all for following me I really appreciate the love…we gon experience this 2009-2010 season together…THUNDER UP”
Thunder Up?!?! He has succumbed to pure evilness. We are doomed.
@Dai
We should run him out of town.
somehow “Thunder Up” sounds okay coming from KD…. might have even started there ya never know
I think Tony is wise to lock his account.
If KD continues to back “Thunder UP,” I might learn to accept it in time. We’ll see.
Really great points all around however. Good show, guys.
Also, add me to the list of Thunder/Chief fans. And as a KC/Sooners fan, my interest in football has already declined considerably.
yay Basketball Season!!!
Ive been thinking about Tony blocking tweets and it doesn’t make any sense to me. For one twitter is unlike its cousins myspace and facebook in that there are no questionable pics of you being posted by other people (Man I hate that) and Twitter is supposed to be a medium where FANS have the opportunity to learn more about you through reading post about your activities, thoughts, feelings. The point is YOUR in control of what gets tweeted. You have to take responsibility for what you say because it IS for the fans and for the people who want to learn about you for whatever reason.
I follow many of the Thunder to learn more about them and to learn about their character because that matters to me and probably to most of the people in OKC. I think that a persons character should matter to this City whether its a NBA player, blogger, radio announcer or your neighbor. We want to be surrounded by good, honest, humble people; because those qualities are what makes Oklahoma City so great.
So stay classy Oklahoma City.
On a side note, why does Jeff Green watch so many girly movies
@Derrick
I’m sure someone encouraged him to block his account.
C’mon..its a known fact around the country that OKC is one of the most racist place to be in. Check it out, ask around..go google it and see what the rest of the country are saying about race issue in OKC..all you white folks really need to wake up.
Signing this little one year job last week actually did KD massive favor as faster he becomes a UFA, he is going to get the max from any one of the east coast teams and bolt the dust bowl..that can also be said about all of the promising young guys on the team. NOBODY, I mean not a single person on that team wants to be playing in your hick town. If they had a choice, I guarantee every single one would choose to be elsewhere.
@blehboi
::yawn:: I’ve seen more provocative trolls on the end of pencils.
shows you’re doing a good job when the trolls start coming out. keep up the great work Royce!
one more day and it’s gametime!!
@blehboi LOL!
@Chris
I kinda like that Green is a softy off court. On court, that is a different story.
Blocking his account stops the controversy, really.
@blehboi
yeah, google it! if it’s on the internet, then it MUST be true!
Why does anyone care what Tony Durant thinks??
I am so sick of hearing bloggers and trolls go on about where KD- and anybody else for that matter- would like to play based on the “aesthetics” of the city. Players want to play for competitive teams, and they want to get paid. Period. I lived in San Antonio for four years, and believe me, that team hasn’t held together all these years because of the lovely riverwalk and proximity to Seaworld. I have trouble seeing KD losing sleep because of the limited mountain climbing and Kyaking opportunities in OKC. Players so upset by the lack of “Totally Nude” strip-clubs and the fact that the bars close at 2:00 am should be let out of their contracts and put on the next flight out. From everything credible thats been reported about our current squad, we shouldn’t have any problem retaining our guys so long as we continue to improve as a team.
amen . . . if you truly CARE about being excellent, then it shouldn’t matter if you are playing in Alaska . . . Manning is stuck in Indy – I don’t hear him whining . . .
I feel kinda bad for these kids (millionaires that they are!), when they can’t speak their minds and be themselves because of media-types looking for the next hot story/controversy to “expose”. (No offense Royce–luv ya!)
I am personally a HUGE Thunder fan, and happy Oklahoman, but I do not share the illusion that our PAID. PROFFESIONAL. NBA. ATHELETES (or their brothers) have to drink the cowboy kool-aid in order to give me my season-tickets worth on the court! This is their JOB people, and I might have to move to New Jersey for my job(heathen, hell-hole of bad manners….) but I bet if I like my job and the people I am working with, I will find something to like about it!
Tony-D is here supporting his bro’ and that is his job, but being a basketball fan is our job, not cultural ambassador to the city or the state! Different strokes for different folks dudes! And just for the record, I love DC too! I think it would be cool beans to go live there for a while. I would hope KD and his brother enjoy their time here, however long it is (hopefully VERY long!) but any predictions Durant has made about retiring in an OKC Thunder jersey are only as good as the paper his contracts are written on. It is our job as fans and OKC-residents to make it happen! So put your $$$ where your mouth is and buy tickets for tomorrow night if you haven’t already!
kev,
Indy is a garden spot compared to OKC
trai,
garden spot not! It does have more than OKC, but not that much and it certainly in not a garden spot (flat, very cold winters, very conservative). Lived there for 8 years, brother still lives there, wife is from Indiana. I moved to Indy when it was known as “naptown” because it was so slow. A couple good Mayors the first being Hudnut and Indy became the amateur sports capital. Also, they used large public subsidies to significantly upgrade their downtown area to include a new government and convention center. OKC would be smart to pass Maps 3.
Durant is so gone in a year and a half…then OKC will be sucking hard, 4 years from now they will be moving that franchise…cursed
everyone has the right to thier own opinion and tell you what i have been here 4 yrs and still call it Oklahoma shitty i bet he was at penn square where the security guards harass the blk folks while the white kids rob them blind i know this from working in that mall and seeing it first hand and yes its a blk and white thing there the guards racial profile like crazy people do get home sick and miss thier towns they are from its allowed and okc takes alot of getting used to they go by thier own rules here not like the bigger cities
Yes, because racial profiling and racism in general is just an OKC thang.