It's good to be the guy on top of the mountain. Just ask Kevin Durant.
During an appearance on CJ McCollum's "Pull Up" podcast, the two-time Finals MVP covered a variety of topics with the Trail Blazers guard, including adjusting to his new life with the Warriors, the dangers of social media, favorite memories from college and DeMarcus Cousins signing with Golden State this offseason. That last subject kicked off a funny, yet brutal back-and-forth between the dynamic scorers.
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It all started when McCollum admitted the Cousins signing upset him . . .
KD: "Why are you mad about this stuff?"
CM: "Bro, I'm in the league. What do you mean why am I mad about this stuff? I'm in the Western Conference. I gotta play you MFers all the time anyway as it is, over and over again. We got eliminated by y'all a few times in the first round. So I'm looking at [Cousins] —
KD: "I mean... you know you guys aren't going to win a championship."
CM: "Bro, we have the team. We have the capabilities. Anything is possible. We can win a championship, bro."
Give McCollum credit for defending his team, but man, that's a tough shot to take. Durant's response almost came across as dismissive, as though the Trail Blazers aren't even worth discussing as a title contender. But that wasn't the end of it.
McCollum said that prior to Cousins joining the Warriors, he thought there was a realistic possibility the big man would land in Portland. Durant shot down the idea, saying Cousins and Jusuf Nurkic would be "too much of one thing."
CM: "So, what do you suggest?"
KD: "I suggest you just keep playing, man, and don't worry about what goes on at the top of things. Relax."
CM: "We were right there at the top of things. We were the third seed last year, bro. We were right there. We were just slightly below one and two."
KD: "But how'd you play?"
CM: "Some unfortunate situations happened in the first round."
KD: "How'd you play?"
CM: "Some unfortunate circumstances."
KD: "Like an eight seed."
Reminding McCollum his team got swept out of the first round as a higher seed? Fatality. Flawless victory.
And guess what: It didn't end there. Let's head to Twitter for an extra round.
I still think the b word is harsh and shouldn’t be used. . He know that decision was soft but I respect it. It’s like getting jumped with ur brothers by a gang you should’ve beat then joining the gang that jumped u and ur brothers 2 months later & forgetting about your bros https://t.co/BFGqQy1lwR
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) July 26, 2018
So,I would get into a gang fight, lose, plot on my brother for 2 months in our home and then go get the gang we lost to and beat him up? U think that low of me CJ? I just did your fuckin podcast. Snakes in the grass boy I tell ya 🤣
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 26, 2018
UPDATE: It appears McCollum is shutting down the "feud" for now. He later tweeted he is "done speaking on KD and the Warriors."
There is no feud y’all gotta chill. It was simply an analogy. I’m done speaking on KD and the warriors bc it’s childish of me to do so and soft lol (will be taken out of context). I’ve always said what I feel but we all know I’ve never been a 🐍. Back to the grind pic.twitter.com/93B39bqKTS
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) July 26, 2018
If you want to hear more from McCollum and Durant, you can check out the full podcast episode below.
