Getty Images Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors
After winning back-to-back NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, many people believed that Kevin Durant re-signing with the franchise was all but a done deal. The Warriors were the most unstoppable team in the NBA with KD and were poised to be arguably the greatest dynasty ever. But a November 2018 game at the Staples Center changed the course of history.
With a chance to beat the Clippers on the line, Warriors forward Draymond Green grabbed the rebound during the game’s final possession. Instead of passing the ball to Durant who was right next to him, Green took the ball up the court and turned it over which led to a visibly heated dispute between him and KD. While it has not been confirmed exactly what Green said to KD it was enough to warrant a suspension from the the team. To this day that dispute is viewed as one of the determining factors as to why Durant left to join the Nets in free agency that summer.
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Draymond Green Details His Bond With Nets Kevin Durant
Now let’s fast forward to the present day. While some believe that there is still tension between Green and Durant to this day, the Warriors forward says that is not the case. In fact, it is literally the opposite.
“That’s my brother; we’ve done some special s**t together, but even beyond us winning a championship together. I got nothing but love for that brother. I love that man. That’s my brother,” Green said during a recent appearance on Carmelo Anthony’s “What’s in Your Glass?” podcast. “One thing I do know is: He got my back in life. Not just on basketball s**t. In life, I know if something’s f****d up with me, I can turn to him. And vice versa.”
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Durant Was Upset With Warriors Brass More Than Draymond
The consensus around the NBA community was that Durant left the Warriors to join the Nets largely because he was mad at Draymond and the things that he said during their argument. But according to Durant, he was more upset about the way that the situation was handled by Warriors brass than he was about what was actually said to him.
“It wasn’t the argument,” Durant said to Green during an appearance on “Chips.” “It was the way that everybody — Steve Kerr acted like it didn’t happen. Bob Myers tried to just discipline you and think that that would put the mask over everything. I really felt like that was such a big situation for us as a group, the first time we went through something like that. We had to get that s—t all out.”
For the Warriors and Durant, the year 2019 has become a year of what-ifs. What if Draymond passed KD the ball? What if Meyers and Kerr never suspended Draymond? What if Durant never tore his Achilles in the NBA Finals?
So many determining factors that ultimately changed the course of history. We may never have the answers to the questions. But what absolutely cannot be disputed is that while Durant was on the Warriors, they were one of the most unstoppable forces in the history of the NBA.
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Warriors Star Breaks Silence About Relationship With Nets Kevin Durant