Recently, former Thunder player Perkins participated in "The Zach Lowe Show" and talked about the Thunder during the Durant and Westbrook era.
Lowe: "You have written it in the book and said on TV that you can feel that Westbrook and Durant's relationship is a bit distant, or that you can feel it. You have written in the book that everyone has their own small circle, and they play with their own circle more than the entire team. Have you ever thought it would develop to the point where Kevin really left the team?"
Perkins: "I never thought it would be like that, I didn't expect it. I think, yes, does he and Westbrook have any disagreements? There are, but they can still coexist. They have achieved a lot of success together, although they didn't win the championship, they won a lot of games, the data was gorgeous, and there were many legendary moments between the two. But I think Kevin Durant's departure was the result of many factors. Presti is my good friend, he comes from the Spurs system, so he is deeply influenced by that style. Presti is very, very strict in some things, such as in the freedom aspect. I think this is the key point when Durant's relationship with the team breaks down. And once we see him After switching to the Golden State Warriors, I immediately realized that he became more cheerful and outgoing, right? It was at that time that you began to see him gradually expressing his true thoughts. The thing that used to operate a small trumpet on Twitter seemed to be a thing of the past. We began to meet Kevin Durant, who was completely different from the past. I think what he longed for at that time was to be able to open up completely. So this was the result of his distant relationship with Westbrook over time until the end, and it was also the reason why Presti was."
"If you ask Presti, he will also say that part of the responsibility is on him. If he had the opportunity to do it again, would he be more relaxed with the players at the time and let them be themselves? Because he is still very Spurs-style now, but I began to see the young Thunder team now - they are starting to be themselves, like Alexander, Jaylen Williams, we know their personality, and Chet's personality. I think Presti has grown up, and he has learned from Durant's things."