Kevin Durant, Draymond Green Discuss 2018 On-Court Argument, Recruitment to Warriors

After years of reports and speculation about their infamous on-court argument during the 2018-19 season, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green addressed the situation in a face-to-face sitdown. 

Appearing on Durant's The ETCs podcast (h/t Jose Martinez of Complex.com), Green explained that Durant, who corroborated the story on the show, yelled at him for not passing the ball before issuing this response. 

“Hey, motherf--ker I do this too," Green said. "I was going to give your ass the ball if you weren’t b---hing! I do this too!”

Green also noted that "nobody says s--t to (Durant)" and that all "he had to do was f--king run, and I would have pitched him the f--king ball back.”

The moment occurred late in the fourth quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 12, 2018. Green grabbed a rebound with the score tied at 106 and dribbled the ball up the floor before losing control when time ran out, sending the game into overtime. 

As for how Durant wound up with the Warriors during the 2016 offseason, Green said that the rumors of him calling the former NBA MVP in the immediate aftermath of Golden State's Finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers from a parking lot were overblown. 

“Y’all added a theatrical sense to make this s--t a movie," said Green. "You gotta make s--t for TV, you gotta add on a little, so people just start pouring on. I wasn’t about to come out and fight it.” 

Durant noted that he exchanged texts with Green about the series, but he didn't consider it a recruiting pitch to sign with the Warriors. 

In the immediate aftermath of the incident against the Clippers, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic reported Green made "it clear he’s been making plays for years" and "reminded Durant the Warriors were winning before Durant showed up so he wouldn’t stand for Durant talking to him as if he were a scrub."

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers announced the day after the win over the Clippers that Green was suspended for one game without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. 

Durant signed with Golden State in July 2016 after spending the first nine years of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise. 

In a June 2017 article, ESPN's Zach Lowe reported that Green called Myers from the Oracle Arena parking lot after the Game 7 loss to the Cavs, saying "it's on you" to sign Durant. 

Lowe added that Green remained in his car and called Durant after talking to Myers. 

"That was my very next call," Green told Lowe. 

Durant's partnership with the Warriors lasted three seasons. It resulted in the franchise making the NBA Finals all three years, winning two titles and Durant being named Finals MVP in 2017 and 2018. 

Golden State's dynasty ended with a loss to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals. Durant missed nine games during that playoff run with a strained calf. His first game back was in Game 5 against the Raptors, but it only lasted 12 minutes when he tore his Achilles in the second quarter. 

Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in July 2019.