The Golden State Warriors reached out to TNT to express concern about JaVale McGee's continued presence on "Shaqin' a Fool."

A Turner source confirmed the discussions with the Warriors and told ESPN that "the matter has been discussed internally" after a Twitter feud erupted Thursday night between Shaquille O'Neal and McGee.

McGee has been a frequent target of O'Neal over the years, but the network took it a step further Thursday night when it aired a "Doctor Strange" piece devoted exclusively to McGee bloopers.

That prompted a nasty exchange of tweets Thursday night between McGee and O'Neal in which McGee told the Hall of Famer to stop talking about him in explicit fashion, followed by O'Neal threatening to "smack the s**t out yo bum ass."

Kevin Durant and Steve Kerr both defended McGee on Friday.

"He works extremely hard," Durant said Friday. "He's come in here and done so much for us as a player, He only wants to be respected, just like anybody else.

"I understand that Shaq works for a company that wants him to do that type of stuff and make fun of players ... but when you just keep doing it time and time and time again, for no reason, and the guy actually disagrees with you and you threaten him ... I didn't know cops could threaten civilians like that."

Durant was referring to O'Neal's status as a reserve police officer in South Florida.

"It's definitely childish," Durant said. "But that's what they want from these stars and these retired players ... to feud with the guys playing now. If I was JaVale, I'd feel the same way. It's childish."

Said Kerr: "JaVale has been fantastic for us, as a player, a teammate, fantastic guy. He's funny, he's fun to be around, he does his job. He's a total pro.

"I don't blame him for being frustrated. Shaq's been picking on him for years and years and years. I think JaVale, and rightfully so, I feel like he's frustrated. It's like, 'It never ends.' It's one thing to just have a little fun, but I think you can go a little bit over the top."

Kerr acknowledged being influenced by the TNT segments.

"You think about JaVale's career. When you're in this position, where somebody on national TV is making fun of you night after night after night, it's not the greatest thing for your reputation. I can tell you I had a preconceived notion of JaVale before he got here that turned out to be totally false. And a lot of that was because of what goes on with Shaq's 'Shaqtin' A Fool.'"