The whole world saw it. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant getting into a heated argument at the end of a Nov. 13 game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The altercation reportedly moved into the locker room where Green hurled verbal barbs at Durant over his upcoming free agency and how it was holding the franchise hostage.
Almost seven months after the incident, the Warriors enter their fifth straight NBA Finals with Durant nursing a calf injury that will likely have him miss at least the first two games against the Raptors.
After the series, Durant has the opportunity to opt out of his contract and become a free agent. The two-time NBA Finals MVP's uncertain future no longer bothers Green, in fact, that wasn't what set the three-time All-Star off back in November.
"It wasn't necessarily that, him being a free agent bothered me," Green told ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "It was, 'Are you with us or not?' that bothered me. But, what I will say is, after I had that moment, one thing Kevin told me is, 'Dude, you have to block out all of that. You see me coming here and work every day. You see me give my all to this team. You see everything, every second of every day. The media is gonna say what they want, but you see everything, you know I'm here, you know I'm with you.'
"And it allowed me to focus on that. It allowed me to focus on what I see, what I can control and not what I can't see per se and what I can't control. And so I think that was just the point for me of where I had to look at it from a different standpoint. I had to stop listening to all the noise."
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With four to seven games left in their season -- and perhaps Durant's Warriors career -- Green is not worried about what Durant will or won't do.
"I haven't even really concerned myself with trying to have a feeling with what he's going to do," Green said. "Because our mission is to win a championship every year. And if he's only here for three years and we win a championship all three of those years, we completed our mission."
Green has previously said that what Durant told him after the incident allowed him to alter his perspective on his own game and forced him to change his on-court demeanor.
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Ever since Durant went out, Green has been playing at another level. The three-time All-Star has taken on an increased scoring role and become the main facilitator with Durant on the bench.
The Warriors have played well in Durant's absence, but they would love to see him come back to face off with Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors.
