Kevin Durant's statement about former coach Scott Brooks: "I will forever be grateful"

Ever since the Thunder announced the firing of their head coach Scott Brooks earlier in the day and it was revealed that GM Sam Presti did not consult his players in advance, one of the questions has been how Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook feel about the move. Both Durant and Westbrook have been intensely loyal to their coach, and Durant has since issued a statement via his Instagram account:

Thank you Scotty!

A photo posted by Kevin Durant (@easymoneysniper) on Apr 22, 2015 at 3:38pm PDT

Durant has never been shy about giving his support toward Brooks. Earlier in the season he lashed out at a reporter for questioning whether Brooks' job was secure. Most poignantly, this is what Durant had to say about his coach and mentor during Durant's remarkable MVP speech:

Scott Brooks, you mean the world to me. I love you. You as a man. I never met anybody like you, so selfless. You don’t take the credit for nothing, even though you deserve all of it. I love you and your family for always taking me in, believing me, texting me late at night when I was going crazy. Thank you. Thank you.