"Craziest s**t I’ve seen" - Kevin Durant fires back instantly after Kendrick Perkins downplays his leadership during Thunder stint

Amid Thursday's hectic NBA trade deadline drama, Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant's ex-teammate Kendrick Perkins' shot at his leadership shocked Durant the most. While discussing Durant's trade prospects, Perkins took credit for leading their early 2010s OKC Thunder squads, eliciting a prompt retort from the 15-time All-Star.

Durant played his first nine seasons with the Thunder/Seattle SuperSonics, establishing himself as one of the league's premier players. He guided the franchise to the 2012 NBA Finals. Two years later, he earned his lone MVP behind a career-best 32.0 points-per-game scoring average.

Conversely, Perkins played parts of five seasons with OKC after being acquired at the 2011 trade deadline. While Perkins brought veteran experience to the young team, he offered little statistical production, never averaging double-figure scoring or rebounding.

Nevertheless, on "NBA Today's" Thursday trade deadline special, Perkins noted that he and fellow veteran Nick Collison were the Thunder's leaders during their peak years.

"It doesn't mean your best player is your leader. When I was with the Thunder, it wasn't KD, it wasn't Russ(ell Westbrook), it wasn't James (Harden), I was the one leading, along with Nick Collison," Perkins said.

However, Durant wasn't having it, as he quickly fired back at Perkins on X/Twitter, expressing disbelief over the 2008 NBA champion's assertion.

"I know this may be a reach, but this comment is by far the craziest s**t I've seen this week," Durant said.

This isn't the first time the former teammates haven't seen eye to eye. In 2020, Perkins questioned Durant's ability to lead a team to playoff success. The two-time NBA champion replied by pointing out Perkins' lackluster OKC stats, sparking a lengthy back-and-forth on X.

So, Durant and Perkins seemingly still aren't on the best of terms a decade after their stint as teammates.

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Kendrick Perkins calls Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns a failure

During Thursday's trade deadline segment, Kendrick Perkins also took aim at Kevin Durant's Suns.

The former 14-year pro called for the veteran squad to have a heart-to-heart meeting amid its .500 season (25-25). He continued to point out a trend of Durant-led teams underperforming.

"A meeting needs to be had in the locker room," Perkins said (timestamp: 4:11). "And again, I said Kevin Durant, another organization, another failure. I didn't say it was his fault, but it's another failure. This is a failed season."

Perkins later went as far as to say that a one-for-one swap of LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James for Kevin Durant could solve Phoenix's problems.

"You replace LeBron and KD, and you give LeBron Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, they wouldn't be sitting at .500," Perkins said.

Thus, it appears Perkins didn't hold back against his ex-teammate.

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