Draymond Green and Kevin Durant have been here before. Long before they were teammates though, they were friends off the court.
History shows Green played a vital role in getting Durant to join the Warriors. But will Green now play a vital role in the Durant era ending in Golden State?
The tiff between the teammatesin Tuesday's overtime loss to the Clippers isn't the first time they have squabbled since Durant joined the Warriors. Each time, however, the intensity seems to increase. This time, Green crossed the lineand cost himself over $120,000 for a one-game suspension from the team.
Let's take a look back at the history of these two having on-court arguments as teammates the past three seasons.
Jan. 6, 2017
In Year 1 of Durant on the Warriors, Green laid into him late in a game where the Warriors blew a 24-point lead against the Grizzlies. Durant had Zach Randolph in a 1-on-1 situation and instead of driving to the hoop against the lumbering big man, he settled for a missed 3-pointer in the 128-119 loss.
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Green wanted to use this is a teaching moment of the Warriors' offense and got on Durant for the poor decision.
This was the first time we could visibly see Draymond upset with Durant as teammates. And the newcomer had no issues with what happened.
"It wasn't an argument at all. It wasn't a disagreement. I felt like Draymond was emotional and something was bothering him, and he came and talked to me. He always can talk to me," Durant said to reporters the next day.
"I didn't take it personally that he was using loud tones. That's just how he is."
Feb. 5, 2017
Less than one month later, Durant and Green were back at it. And this time, Durant fired back.
In a loss against the Kings that snapped the Warriors 13-game winning streak, the two found themselves in a heated exchange on the sidelines. Shaun Livingston and JaVale McGee had to play peace maker to calm the tension. But, Durant again felt like Green did the right thing.
"I didn't have any energy as far as pressuring the ball, boxing out, getting out in transition. He (saw) that. And as a teammate, you can just let me be in the clouds or you can bring me back down, and I think he did a good job," Durant said days later.
Nov. 12, 2018
In the final seconds of regulation in the Warriors' 121-116 overtime lossto the Clippers, Durant wanted to ball in his hands for the last shot. Green wanted to the ball in his hands to push it down the court. The result: Draymond stumbling and no shot before the final buzzer.
And then, this.
As regulation comes to an end during Warriors vs Clippers a heated exchange between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant ensued on the bench with Klay Thompson playing peacemaker. pic.twitter.com/Za7IrmqOJ2— adam (@ClippsMcGee) November 13, 2018
This was by far the most heated exchange of the two since Durant and Green became teammates. The Warriors felt it was so bad that Green had to be suspended one game.
Nov. 13, 2018
Sometimes body language tells the whole story. If you watched Kevin Durant's press conference after the Warriors' 110-103 win over the Hawks, his face clearly showed he wasn't over what transpired with Green.
When asked if he's hashed things over with Draymond, Durant had one word: "Nah."
This story isn't ending any time soon.
