Russell Westbrook: 'There's No Beef' with Kevin Durant Ahead of Clippers-Suns Series

For Russell Westbrook, it's all water under the bridge when it comes to his relationship with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant.

"I think people still think like there's some beef or something. There's no beef," he said ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round NBA playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. "... There's no beef. I got nothing but respect for him and things he's done. There's no beef at all."

Westbrook added he hasn't taken the time to reflect too much on their OKC run together:

Durant announced on July 4, 2016, he was leaving the Thunder to sign with the Golden State Warriors. Later that day, Westbrook shared a photo of cupcakes that appeared to be from a celebration he was enjoying:

To the surprise of no one, that was a subtle shot at Durant.

Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated explained how Westbrook and Durant would use the word "cupcake" as a synonym for soft. As a result, the subtext from the Instagram photo was unmistakable.

Durant didn't have a short memory when he and the Warriors were basking in their 2017 NBA Finals win. During JaVale McGee's charity softball game, he wore a hat displaying a cupcake with a ring on top.

As they say, time heals all wounds.

It has been almost seven years since Durant signed with Golden State. Since then, his and Westbrook's careers have taken a number of turns. By 2019, it sounded like they had already moved on from whatever hostility they might have had for one another.

There will always be a few what-ifs attached to KD and Russ' time in Oklahoma City. Maybe the Thunder would've won one or more titles if they never traded James Harden. Maybe Durant would've stayed if they didn't throw away the 3-1 series lead over the Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.

It's impossible to calculate the amount of ink that has been spilled and the number of podcast hours devoted to analyzing those hypotheticals.

The Westbrook/Durant dynamic will certainly be a storyline in the first round now that they're with the Clippers and Suns, respectively, but any sense of this being an individual rivalry fizzled out a while ago.