Why are we talking about Kevin Durant during the 2022 NBA Finals when his team was eliminated in the first round?
Warriors' forward Draymond Green continued to stir the pot when he dropped his former teammate's name in his postgame press conference after Golden State's Game 2 win over the Celtics.
When nudged by a reporter on how the Warriors' offensive game plan seems different in these Finals compared to their last few appearances with Durant on the roster, Green made it clear that everything has always run through superstar guard Stephen Curry.
"It feels like this is a little bit different through these first couple of games. It's a lot of Steph and then trying to find where the rest of the offense comes from. Are you guys feeling that and will this have to be done a different way?" the reporter asked Green.
"Our offense is always a lot of Steph. It all starts with Steph. When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph," Green replied.
"That's the way it's going to be. I think when you're playing a team like (the Celtics), you have to get offense from other places and not just Steph."
MORE: Curry leads Warriors to dominant Game 2 win over Celtics
It was that response that had headlines buzzing, although it reads very differently in quote graphics than it does in the actual soundbite from Green.
"When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph."
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 6, 2022
Draymond says Steph is, and has always been, the key to the Dubs' offense pic.twitter.com/m8ssfKTCpU
Nonetheless, it has become newsworthy whenever Green speaks on Durant or vice versa, given their fallout when Durant left the Warriors.
MORE: Why did Durant leave the Warriors?
Draymond Green and Kevin Durant hash it out on Twitter
Just last week, the two traded words on Twitter after a clip went viral of Green saying Curry was double-teamed "seven-times" as much as Durant during their time as teammates.
Oh I seen it my brethren, I appreciate the compliments but I disagree with what u said about double teams that’s all. I love the show https://t.co/6M18Ez1Vpr
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 31, 2022
That came on the heels of Green telling Colin Cowherd on the same podcast that Durant made a mistake to leave the Warriors.
"What I will say is, when he decided that he was going to leave, I thought it was a mistake," Green said to Cowherd. "And not for the reason that everyone else thinks it’s a mistake, by the way. I thought it was a mistake because I know Kevin. ...
"Basketball is 100 percent the most important thing in Kevin’s life. It is the thing that he cares about himself more than anything in the world. And when Kevin was here, the reason I thought Kevin was making a mistake, because I felt like when Kevin was here, what he was allowed to do was to simply just go play basketball, which is what Kevin loves to do."
While the two personalities have a tendency to step on each other's toes, they did hash out their "beef" in a one-on-one sit-down interview last summer. Green also called Durant his "brother" and spoke about how much he cares about their relationship on Cowherd's podcast.
Even so, it will always make headlines whenever the former teammates have something to say about the other.
Green and the Warriors will look to take a series lead over the Celtics when they travel to Boston for Game 3 on Wednesday.
