Draymond Green: Kevin Durant 'Wasn't as Happy' After 2017 Finals Win vs. LeBron

In November, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he felt Kevin Durant's happiness begin to wane following the team's first title, possibly because he didn't receive enough praise for the team's success.

Draymond Green backed up Kerr's comments in even more detail Thursday during an appearance on All the Smoke:

"We win a championship, Kevin wins Finals MVP, in my opinion, he got the best of Bron that series, like Kevin was f--kin' rockin'. ... After that, that was kinda that moment, damn, Kevin should be the best player in the NBA because of what he just did to LeBron. You turn on the TV the next day and the f--kin headline is, 'LeBron James Still the Best Player in the World?' You got Stephen A, you got all these people debating it, and everybody still sayin' LeBron James is the best player in the world.

"That's when I kind of felt like it took a turn. And then we came back in the 2017-18 season, and Kevin just wasn't as happy. He wasn't as like 'Steph do what you do, Klay do what you do.' All of a sudden it was kinda just like 'F--k, why Steph shooting this shot?' or 'F--k, he ain't pass the ball!' or 'Why Klay shooting this shot?' or 'F--k, why he ain't pass the ball?' And I'm just sitting here like yo, that's the same Klay and Steph I've always played with. They ain't playin' no different than they've always played." 

As with all things KD-Warriors, there is a lot to unpack here. From Durant's perspective, it's easy to see why resentment would start to bubble over.

Durant spent 28 years of his life building to the moment where he would win a championship and take home Finals MVP honors. It was, undoubtedly, the finest moment of his professional life and probably one of his best personal moments as well. Only the celebratory moment he likely thought coming never happened. Durant was written off by many as a bandwagon hopper who didn't "earn" his championship, joining a 73-win team thanks to a historic salary cap hike in the summer of 2016. 

Couple that with the ongoing fan narrative of whether the Warriors were Durant's or Steph's team and the national media's refusal to force LeBron James to abdicate his throne as the best player in basketball, and there is a natural frustration that would build for almost any competitor.

That's not the fault of the Warriors, and no one ever made Durant put a pen to paper and sign in Golden State. But even from afar, Durant's reasoning for his departure and unhappiness seems obvious.