Draymond Green has a bright future as a media personality when his playing days are over if he wants it, and the Golden State Warriors big man is already getting an early start with his new show “Chips” for Bleacher Report. Green welcomed former teammate Kevin Durant as a guest on his latest episode, and the two stars had an honest and authentic conversation touching on a variety of topics across KD’s career.
The most illuminating moment of the conversation happened when Green asked Durant about their blow up late in a regular season game against the Clippers during KD’s final season in Golden State. Green and Durant each went for a rebound in the final seconds of regulation in a tied game, Green came away with it, and pushed the ball down the floor before falling and turning it over. Green and Durant had an animated conversation on the bench that drew plenty of attention at the time despite being a regular season game in November.
Green would be suspended by the front office, the Warriors ultimately fell short of three-peating after injuries to Durant and Klay Thompson in the NBA Finals against the Raptors, and Durant would sign with the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason.
You can watch a clip of Durant and Green’s discussing the incident here, with a full transcription below:
Here’s the transcription. Green asks: “How much did our argument against the Clippers drive you to ultimately leave the Warriors?”
Durant: It wasn’t the argument, it was the way everybody ... Steve Kerr acted like it didn’t happen, Bob Meyers tried to discipline you and think 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, that we had to get that shit all out. I remember watching “The Last Dance,” and when Scottie didn’t go into the game, the whole team in the locker room said Scottie that was fucked up that you did that. We needed that. We just needed to throw all that shit out on the table, and say ‘yo Dray, K, that was fucked up that we even had to go through that, let’s just wipe our hands with that and finish the task.’ I don’t think we did that, we tried to dance around it. The vibe of all of that just made shit weird to me. I’d rather us be who we say we are: family first, communication is key, and we didn’t show that. That’s what rubbed me the wrong way more than anything.
Green: When we landed back from LA, Hazel (his wife) was sitting in the car for 1:45, they put me in that room for an 1:45 and they tried to tell me you need to apologize. I tried to tell them, I’ll talk to K, but y’all aren’t going to tell me what I need to say. And they went on for 1:45 talking a bunch of bullshit, and ultimately they realized okay we’re not getting through to him, we’re gonna try again in the morning. So we met the next morning, and they said, alright you slept on it, are you ready to apologize, and I told them right then and there, I said, y’all about to fuck this up. I said the only person that can make this right is me and K. And there’s nothing you can do. And y’all are going to fuck this up. And in my opinion, they fucked it up.
Durant: I think so too.
Green: And they told me right then and there, we’re going to suspend you for this game. I laughed in their face. Literally laughed. And Bob said to me ‘wow, that was not the reaction I was looking for or expecting.’ And I said, I’m either going to laugh in your face or cuss you the fuck out. So I chose laugh. I think what you’re doing is funny and so I’m going to laugh. And so it’s interesting to hear you say essentially the same thing I told them that day.
Right after the incident, this website wondered if this was how the Warriors’ dynasty would end. That’s exactly what happened. Interestingly, Green mentioned earlier in the conversation that he sensed Durant was ready to move on even before their public blow up against the Clippers.
“In my opinion, after year two, you were over it, you were done with it, and you were on to the next thing,” Green said. “But we had the opportunity to three-peat, and in my mind what brought you back to Golden State for year three was just that opportunity to three-peat. But it didn’t feel right to me no more.”
The whole conversation between Green and Durant is fantastic. It’s clear both players have some animosity towards management about how the blow-up against the Clippers was handled, and ultimately Durant signed with the Nets ahead of the next season. Warriors management might not want to hear it, but this was a rare look into how two future Hall of Famers viewed one of the most talked about moments of their careers.
Never stop talking, Draymond. We can’t wait for the next episode.
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August 19, 2021 at 03:35AM
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Kevin Durant and Draymond Green give the real story behind their infamous Warriors fight - SB Nation
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