Draymond Green goes in deep on Kevin Durant and the Warriors dynasty, and it's riveting
In an appearance on the "All The Smoke" podcast, Golden State's mercurial star offers an extended insiders perspective on Durant's departure, among other topics
Did you know that the first show the band Green Day ever played was as an opener for equally famous bay area punk legend Operation Ivy in what was to be their last public performance? The reason I know it is because there’s a fascination with the minutiae behind breakups. Like Op Ivy, the Golden State Warriors dynasty with Kevin Durant was over too quickly - leaving everyone wondering what went on behind the scenes, and hungry for more information.
So when Draymond Green sits down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the “All The Smoke” podcast to talk about his side of Durant’s departure, it’s going to be riveting.
Clocking in at just a hair over two hours long, this is by far the deepest dive we’ve ever gotten from Draymond Green on his direct perspective regarding the overall dynasty run. With a lot of credit to host Matt Barnes, who does an excellent job of asking leading questions in just the right way, Green talks at length about Durant’s time with the Warriors. And for the first time that I’ve seen, Green offers his opinion on the conflict during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers, and all the other elements and reactions that went into Durant’s arrival and departure.
Seriously, this is a near mandatory watch/listen for fans.
For those most interested in the specific discussion of Durant’s arrival and departure, start the video around the 1:18 mark.
When asked by Barnes to start at the beginning of the story, Green reverts to the offseason in 2015. When talking with agent BJ Armstrong, he’s shown the math on potentially signing Durant and forgoes millions of dollars. Being told that his max was around $96 million, and that he could still make $85 million while allowing the team to sign Durant and his max contract. So Green wrote down $82 million on a piece of paper and eventually signed.
It’s telling that Green picks that point as the story of how Durant came to leave the Warriors.
We won’t revisit the entire sequence of events, but one interesting question has always been “when did Kevin Durant decide that he wasn’t coming back?” This quote in particular shows that Green understands that the answer may be more complicated than just an interpersonal disagreement.
Here’s the full quote (paraphrased for brevity, and edited to remove Green’s frequent potty mouth):
“It wasn’t the same after that. But it wasn’t the same before that, and it hadn’t been the same for about a year…it’s easy to point the finger and say ‘Draymond did this’ or ‘it wasn’t the same since he did that’…but Kevin ain’t changed as a basketball player, me and him just didn’t have the same closeness off the floor…
Listen, I’ve done a lot for this organization… but one thing I know…this is Kevin effin’ Durant we’re talking about. If this was such a big deal about Kevin being here or me being here. Guess what? Bob would have called me and asked me where I wanted to go.”
So the narrative that Durant left because of his conflict with Draymond wasn’t necessarily untrue, but neither was it the sole reason Durant left.
Without getting on a soap box or anything, the treatment of Durant’s departure from Golden State has suffered from a gross oversimplification. If I open the fridge for a drink and do something as simple as pick a soda instead of a beer, there are probably a bunch of reasons behind that choice.
Similarly, the departure of Kevin Durant was never Draymond Green’s fault.
Because here’s the thing: if you get mad at a teammate for making a play you disagree with, you don’t get ‘punch the chair’ mad. So as Green referenced multiple times, there was clearly a lot more going on to make Durant not content here.
So please. Go ahead and spend a couple of hours with Green and a couple of member of We Believe.
But let me leave you all with a thought about what comes next.
People forget who the real mastermind of this team is, Steve Kerr. He took over the reigns from Mark Jackson who got them into the playoffs and the realm of respectability and took them to the next level. Lacob said at the time he made the change because Jackson wasn't the right guy to take them there. This was said before the season started. Kerr simply organized the existing talent and told them how he wanted the team to play. The rest is history. He used the talents of his players to the max and developed strategies and tactics he still uses today. The players that were added were all support and bench players who were 'handpicked' for their particular skills. This was a careful construction between Kerr and the GM staff. That year, Kerr's first, they won the Championship.
The next year, they lost. Green had arguably his best season. They decided that H. Barnes was the weak link and went on the crusade to sign KD, which they did. They went on to win the Championship for the 2nd time and Green was a much less effective scorer than he had been. Even his rebounding took a hit, but KD is an almost 7 footer so it is understandable.
2017-18 they won again! Green never recovered his offensive game and his rebounding. KD was unstoppable and it certainly looked like replacing H. Barnes was the key to the Warrior's success.
2018-19, they lost. They seemed tired all season and let's face it, when you played for 3-4 years at the level the Warriors did, it takes its toll. KD continued to dominate. Green's offensive production seemed to have permanently gone south, especially his 3 ball. 11ppg on 45%fg seems to be his high water mark. Still, we got to the Finals but trouble was brewing and then the injuries.
We will never resolve the Green/KD affair because it is impossible to know the psychological effects of one's emotions and thinking on the court. Nothing is provable. Both contribute and play hard. If I had to choose who I would want on my team I would pick KD. He has proved beyond all doubt that he helped deliver two championships to the Warriors and is a dominant player and HOF shoo-in. He does seem a bit weak minded and I think the Warriors as a team did not fully address the situation and underestimated KD's intention to leave. Who in their right mind would want to leave the Warriors in the midst of an historic championship run with some years remaining with which to continue their winning ways? There was something there that was intolerable to KD and the Warriors let it happen. Trying to recapture a championship will be extremely difficult for the Warriors without a dominant player like KD. He made the difference for the last two rings. Green is a support player who is a contributor mostly on D and is able to setup plays. Execution is another story and so is discipline. Will nostalgia end the Warrior run to greatness? They need to get real serious, real soon and make some hard decisions about their future. No tears, Myers.
That was a great interview. Barnes was really excellent and Draymond is always candid and entertaining.
My biggest surprise was how apparently poorly Kerr and Myers handled the Draymond/KD Clippers dust-up. By his telling, Draymond had already spoken with them about his concerns about KD possibly leaving and not being happy. We don't know for sure if KD had spoken with them about leaving, but on another "Smoke" episode, KD says he thought there should have been a more open discussion of the tiff between Green and KD - with teammates and coaches - and there never was. On "the incident" itself, I always saw it Green's way - he pushed the ball and KD lagged behind when he should have been getting himself into position. KD dumped on Draymond FIRST, then Draymond (clearly unhappy with himself for turning the ball over) completely lost it with KD. "Losing it" is on Green, and he ought to get some help there. (His comment about refs "not respecting" him is in the same vein, and deserves more introspection on his part).
OTOH, Draymond is a winner. I'm glad he's on the Warriors, and I'm sure that he'll be successful in whatever he choses to do.
I'm still a KD fan. What a marvelous basketball player. What a generous community member! I wish him well with the Nets - he can be a one man wrecking crew (can't see oft-injured Kyrie helping all that much) - but I'm sure in years ahead he will fondly remember his time with the Dubs.