Kevin Durant, Steve Kerr Support JaVale McGee in Feud with Shaquille O'Neal

The feud between Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee and Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal has led head coach Steve Kerr and teammate Kevin Durant to offer their support for McGee. 

During Warriors practice Friday, Durant said he felt O'Neal had crossed a line in regard to McGee, via Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group:   

Kerr said his opinion of McGee has been altered since he left the TNT broadcast booth, via Slater:

O'Neal responded to Durant's comments on Friday:

The rivalry between McGee and O'Neal was created when the latter made McGee the ongoing butt of jokes during his Shaqtin' A Fool segments during TNT's NBA coverage.    

It escalated when McGee and O'Neal engaged in a war of words on Twitter early Friday morning. O'Neal told McGee he was going to "smack the s--t out yo bum ass." McGee responded by telling O'Neal to "kick rocks you old bastard."

Marc Stein and Chris Haynes of ESPN reported that "the Warriors contacted Turner officials to express concern about TNT's yearslong McGee coverage." A Turner source confirmed the talks to Stein and Haynes, noting that the situation is being handled internally.

O'Neal has a history of antagonizing players, dating back to his playing days. He famously referred to the Sacramento Kings as the "Queens" in the midst of their playoff rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s.

McGee has never been a star during in his nine-year NBA career, but he has been a solid contributor, averaging 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game with five different teams.

With Durant and Kerr offering pointed responses to O'Neal, McGee will have no doubts about his standing in the Warriors locker room as the team continues to chase an NBA title.   

Bleacher Report is owned by Turner Broadcasting.