Although he is now far from California, Kevin Durant has been talked about a lot lately in San Francisco. Because with the punch of Draymond Green on Jordan Poole, it is the images of the altercation between the strong winger and the current winger of Brooklyn, in 2018, which returned to the carpet.
At the time, Draymond Green violently (but only verbally) attacked his teammate, accusing him of already having his head elsewhere, and of not being essential to the team anyway. But for Kevin Durant, the two situations have absolutely nothing to do.
” That’s not the same at all “ he thus replied to ESPN. “Someone got punched in the face. It’s not comparable to that. I’ve heard people say that happens a lot in the NBA. I had never seen anything like it before. What me and Draymond went through a few years ago, it happens all the time. So it’s easy to move on after something like that, but this situation is very different. »
Unlike the episode with Kevin Durant, Draymond Green has not been suspended by the Warriors, perhaps mainly because the team does not want to deprive his player of the ring ceremony, which will take place in the first game of the regular season. It will be October 19, against the Lakers.
“The best thing about the Warriors is that their mantra has always been ‘strength in numbers’. And there’s always been a collaborative, collective effort there.”
What create a funny situation, “where everything seems to be back to normal” as Kevin Durant puts it. On the surface at least. But behind the scenes, will the Warriors easily recover from the episode?
“I think the best thing about the Warriors is that their mantra has always been ‘strength in numbers’. And there’s always been a collaborative, collective effort there.” continues Kevin Durant. “So Steph isn’t the only one trying to get everyone together. I’m sure Andre [Iguodala] ugly. I am sure that [Kevon Looney] ugly. I’m sure Bob [Myers] and Shaun [Livingston] and Clay [Thompson] and the guys who have been there for a long time help him too. You can’t deal with something like this alone. Steph knows it, Bob knows it. I know that from being part of this group, they always work in a democratic way, so I’m sure they’re all talking internally, as a group, to see what’s the best way forward. »
Even if the double MVP of the Finals reminds us that what happened in Golden State is not common.
” It’s rare. Really. I’ve been in the league for 16 years, and I had never seen this until the other day when I watched the video. We’ve all heard of MJ (with Steve Kerr) or Bobby Portis (with Nikola Mirotic), but it doesn’t happen every year. It’s very rare for something like this to happen. »
