Suns star Kevin Durant is reportedly not open to returning to the Golden State Warriors. But according to his brother, Tony, the reason for spurning the Warriors may be due to his relationship with Draymond Green.
“His final season as a Warriros in 2018-19 was of course marked by a devastating Achilles injury,” reported Marc Stein. “As well as a growing belief that he wanted a dramatic change of scenery (which he found in Brooklyn) and no longer wanted to play alongside Draymond Green.”
Tony did not directly confirm the reason for Durant’s lack of interest in the Warriors, but liking the post is enough to assume that it has something to do with Draymond Green.
The former Defensive Player of the Year is one of the longest-tenured Warriors and he’s played an instrumental role in the Warriors’ four championship runs.
He and Durant played together from 2016 to 2019, winning two championships in three straight trips to the Finals. Together, Durant, Draymond, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson formed a historically dominant unit that overcame nearly every obstacle in their path.
But during Durant’s final season with the organization, he had a falling out with Draymond Green that influenced his decision to leave months later. The former teammates had a legendary moment on the sidelines and went viral online after an altercation that had them acting like rivals.
While the details are still murky, we know that Draymond shouted some very personal insults toward Durant and claimed that the Warriors didn’t need him to succeed. Durant left in the summer of 2019 and Draymond never backed down from his claims that Kevin was along for the ride during their dynasty.
By all accounts, the two stars never recovered their relationship and they haven’t been on the best of terms since parting ways years ago. So now, with Durant’s future once again on the table, he is actively avoiding the Warriors and a chance to play with Draymond again.
At 34 years old, Draymond is one of the longest-tenured Warriors players and he’s certainly one of the most controversial. From getting suspended in the NBA Finals to his incidents with Kevin Durant and Jordan Poole, Gree has always been a fiery figure and he’s not the easiest person to play with.
But his skillset and relentless playstyle make him an elite defender, and he’s the only one holding his team together on that end of the floor. With averages of 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on 41.6% shooting, Green continues to play a major role for the Dubs this season but it hasn’t gotten the team very far.
Ahead of this month’s trade deadline, the Warriors are pulling all the tips to improve their roster and the word on the street is that they could be open to trading Green. While Durant prefers to reunite with Kyrie Irving, a potential Draymond trade could re-open a return to the Warriors.
At this point, only time will tell if the Warriors can pull off one last-minute trade to improve but with several stars already giving them the cold shoulder, it’s looking like this is one trade deadline that the Dubs will have to sit out.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
