Kevin Durant has admitted a heated exchange with Draymond Green that happened nearly a year ago during a regular-season game was part of the reason he left Golden State in free agency.
When pressed during an appearance on ESPN's "First Take" about whether the on-court dispute with Green played a role in leaving Golden State, Durant candidly said: "A little bit. Yeah, for sure."
"Definitely. For sure. I'm not gonna lie about it."
— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2019
–Kevin Durant on if his heated exchange with Draymond Green was a factor in his decision to leave the Warriors
(via @firsttake) pic.twitter.com/luuS6Fd22C
There was a long pause before Durant was asked to expand on his short answer.
"I mean, your teammate talk to you that way, you think about it a bit," Durant said. "But you know, like I said, we talked about it. But definitely. For sure. I'm not going to lie about it."
A verbal altercation broke out last November when Green grabbed a rebound against the Clippers and didn't pass to Durant, who was open. The incident carried over into the locker room, and Green subsequently was suspended one game without pay for conduct "detrimental to the team," according to the Warriors' statement at the time.
Tensions ran high between KD and Draymond after going into OT with the Clippers. pic.twitter.com/J1EX86uNSz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 13, 2018
Green took blame for the exchange last week, admitting he was "wrong" and that he had to work to rebuild Durant's trust.
"Once I was able to get over my stubbornness and accept the fact that I was wrong, I was able to move on," Green said on ESPN's "The Woj Pod." "I lost (Durant's) trust. How do I get that back? Not so we can win a championship or we can win some games ... but I actually loved this guy, like that's really my brother. And so not knowing what's next in our relationship bothered me more."
Durant went on to explain the ultimate reason why he opted not to re-sign with the Warriors.
"I just felt like I needed a switch. I felt like a lot of stuff in Golden State had reared its head," Durant said. "I felt like it was just going to be the end no matter what, especially for that group. Shaun Livingston was retiring. Andre Iguodala was getting older. Our contracts were going to stifle the team and put us in the hole to get other players. It was kind of time for all of us to separate."
Durant ended up signing a four-year, $164 million deal with the Nets in free agency.