Draymond Green said he said he called Kevin Durant from his car in the arena parking lot the night the Warriors lost Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cavaliers.
Durant called that “false, a hundred percent false.”
That was a strange disagreement when it happened in 2017. Green and Durant were Golden State teammates on the verge of a championship. Their relationship hadn’t yet soured.
On “The ETCs” podcast, Durant and Green finally explained the discrepancy. There was no call.
They texted.
Durant:
I done heard a couple stories. From my end, we sent some texts.
That’s really what it was, bro.
It wasn’t no urgent FaceTime call. It was just exactly what I just said. Like, “Yo, you see what just happened?” “Bet. Alright, I’m on the way.”
Green:
It was this whole narrative of, “You called Kevin crying from the parking lot.” I’m like, yo, this s*** can – y’all added a theatrical sense to make this s*** a movie. You got to make s*** for TV. You got to add on a little bit. So people just started pouring on, bro. But I wasn’t about to come out and fight it. At the end of the day, however y’all think Kevin got here in your mind, just roll with that if that’s what helps you out.
Durant:
And also, this is for the OKC fans. They thought me and Dray was hanging out literally chilling with each other during the conference finals. And when I heard that s–t, I was like, “What the f. Who do y’all think I am? Do you think Draymond would hang out with me during conference finals over at my house?” Come on, stop the bulls***.
To me, the Green-Durant exchange occurring over text rather than call doesn’t change the fundamental story.
Green recruited Durant throughout the season, including immediately after losing Game 7 of the 2016 Finals. That night, Durant expressed an intent to join the Warriors. He then signed with Golden State.
I can see how Green and Durant would be frustrated with people embellishing – Green crying in his car, a desperate video call, etc. Those made-up details were overly dramatic.
But none of that was ever reported by someone credible. At a certain point, it’s not worth getting upset about the imagination of random strangers.
That said, Durant minimizes the issue when he cites Oklahoma City fans of being suspicious during the 2016 Warriors-Thunder Western Conference finals. Durant’s Oklahoma City teammates were bothered by his relationship with Green. There’s evidence Durant had one foot out the door toward Golden State by that point.
I generally believe Durant and Green were competitive enough to put their friendship aside during that series. Michael Jordan and Danny Ainge golfed together during a Bulls-Celtics playoff series, and nobody questions their competitiveness.
But Ainge wasn’t recruiting Jordan to Boston, either.
The Green-Durant relationship did create a weird dynamic during the 2016 playoffs. There was no escaping that. Durant so forcefully denying that Green called him after the Finals when Green said otherwise and they actually texted only added to the drama.
At least they now clarified (I think).
