Draymond Green Opens Up About KD Squabble, Suspension

The Warriors forward spoke at length about the fight and suspension for the first time

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors forward Draymond Green spoke at length for the first time about his argument with Kevin Durant last November and the team-mandated suspension that followed during an appearance on The Woj Pod.

Green appeared alongside Warriors general Bob Myers on the podcast, saying the incident with Durant caused him to reevaluate both his status with the franchise and his relationship with Myers. Green said the suspension forced him to think about the altercation, with the volatile forward ultimately accepting he was in the wrong and apologizing to Durant.

“I started to tell myself in my mind, ‘Wow [Myers is flipping on me].’ I started to tell myself all of these things, and then everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, the Warriors sided with Kevin Durant,’” Green told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on the podcast. “That was the hardest thing for me, because a lot of people don’t understand me. Bob does.”

Green and Durant got into it on the court after a loss to the Clippers in which Green declined to pass the ball to an open Durant near the end of regulation. The argument reportedly carried over into the locker room. 

“I just had to accept the fact that I was wrong. And once I was able to get over my stubbornness and accept the fact that I was wrong, I was able to move on,” Green told Wojnarowski.

The Warriors overcame the incident and advanced to their fifth straight NBA Finals before losing to the Toronto Raptors in six games. Durant, sidelined by a calf injury for much of the playoffs, tore his Achilles in Game 5 of the Finals, his first game back in action. He would depart in free agency that summer, signing a max contract with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Green and Myers went on to discuss the additional fallout from the altercation, eventually arriving at the topic of Durant and Green’s relationship. Green said he knew he needed to regain Durant’s trust because, “…that’s really my brother. Not knowing what’s next in our relationship bothered me more.” 

Green also responded to Durant’s comment in a Wall Street Journal article published in September that he never felt like "one of those guys" in Golden State. Green told Wojnarowski that statement "pisses me off," adding that Durant was definitely one of them. Green clarified that he was not bothered that Durant was mad or that he left in free agency. 

The Warriors begin the 2019-20 season on Thursday night at the Chase Center against the Los Angeles Clippers.