Nearly a full year ago, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green got into an argument with then teammate Kevin Durant that supposedly saw Green venomously saying Durant was just going to leave the Bay Area at the end of the season and that the two-time Finals MVP was dragging his free agency decision into the season.
The Warriors suspended Green for a game because of his comments, but, as it turns out, Durant did actually leave for the Brooklyn Nets in free agency this past summer, and as he explained on ESPN’s First Take Thursday, the comments Green directed at him played a factor in his decision.
“Definitely. For sure. I’m not gonna lie about it,” said Durant in response to whether his heated exchange with Green played a role in his decision to leave the Warriors. “I felt like a lot of stuff in Golden State had reared its head and I felt like that was just gonna be the end no matter what – especially for that group. Shaun Livingston was retiring, Andre Iguodala was getting older, our contracts that are stuck with the team were gonna put us in the hole to get other players. So it was time for all of us to separate.”
In a recent episode of ESPN’s Woj Pod, hosted by Adrian Wojnarowski, Green expressed regret over how things played out between him and Durant.
“The thing that bothered me most was I lost his trust,” Green said on the podcast. “How do I get that back? Because not so we can win a championship or we can win some games – that is what it is – but I actually loved this guy. That’s really my brother. So not knowing what’s next in our relationship bothered me way more.”
We all saw what happened next. Durant signed a four-year contract with Brooklyn worth about $164 million in the summer to team up with Kyrie Irving, who also signed as a free agent with the Nets.
Unfortunately, because of the Achilles injury he suffered in the Finals last season, Durant says he doesn’t expect to play this season as he rehabilitates the injury.
“I don’t plan on it,” said Durant in response to him playing at all this season.
Additionally, other highlights from Durant’s appearance on First Take included the five NBA players he enjoys watching the most and a shoutout to Toronto’s own Drake and his seminal 2011 record “Take Care”
[relatedlinks]
