When NBA players make big-time news in August, you know something is probably wrong.
For the Golden State Warriors, their star forward Draymond Green made a big splash with his interview of former Warriors F Kevin Durant. The two essentially blamed the Warriors brass for Durant’s departure following the 2019 season.
They did so despite the undeniable impact from their on-court spat in a road loss to the Clippers in 2018. Durant said it wasn’t the epic argument with Green that made him leave, it was the reaction from the team. He singled out general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr.
Longtime San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins isn’t having it, however. He wrote that the interview was “revisionist history” and had much more to say on the subject.
Does anyone actually believe this nonsense?
… We’ll never know the exact nature of those discussions, and it seems perfectly valid that the feuding Warriors weren’t happy with management’s general tone. But let’s not forget: That team was effectively dismantled before the season even started. Sitting at a podium on Media Day, Durant expressed no particular desire about staying with the organization and left his future entirely in doubt. It became clear to everyone, especially those inside the Warriors’ locker room, that he was seeking new challenges after being such a vital part of back-to-back championships.
Bruce Jenkins/San Francisco Chronicle
Tell us how really feel, Mr. Jenkins.
The portion of Green’s chat with Durant that I watched seemed self serving to me, mainly for Green, with each player glossing over a lot of what happened and blaming Myers and Kerr. Durant said that he felt the locker room should have called he and Green out then and there, but Green ignored that point and went on to blame management, and Durant agreed.
The question I’ll always have is what would have happened if Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was in LA that night? He was in the Bay Area nursing a groin injury. Would Curry have squashed the beef? We’ll never know.
Jenkins makes another point that I agree with, too. He claims nobody will care about Green’s interview with Durant when the season starts in October. No matter what you think about this weird August Warriors news, all basketball fans can agree: they are longing for that month to arrive.
(Photo courtesy Cyrus Saatsaz)
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