Warriors' Draymond Green dishes on rocky relationship with Kevin Durant

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As Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is dealing with an injury, he spoke on his self-titled show released Tuesday about his relationship with Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant and the rollercoaster of it. After the Warriors played the Suns, Durant complimented his former teammate on the type of player that he is, which garnered a response from the Warriors player.

The 34-year-old would talk about the initial tension between himself and Durant, stemming from the altercation between Green and Suns big-man Jusuf Nurkic. He would reveal they settled their differences then, which has led to a fruitful relationship in the present.

“I was thankful, I was appreciative because I am always someone who addresses things head on,” Green said. “Last year, I got suspended with the stuff with Nurkic, and KD [Durant] said something that I didn't like. I was like, damn, KD's got my number, and you're going to go out publicly and feed this narrative of, like, I hope he gets the help he needs, and I was upset about it, I felt a way, I was pissed.”

“I saw KD in the off season, and we chopped it up, and man to man, face to face, we chopped it up,” Green continued. “Told him how I felt, he told me how he felt, and he was like, damn, I didn't think it would be seen that way, I didn't think it would be taken that way, and we talked about it. Then for him to come out and say this, when you share disdain with something that someone does, don't be a hypocrite when they say something well, you don't appreciate that.”

Warriors’ Draymond Green on caring about Kevin Durant’s words

Even though Green and Nurkic would still throw shots at one another after the incident, it hasn’t impacted the relationship with Durant. Green would further talk about how he cares about the opinion of Durant due to not just being a former teammate but also being a great basketball player.

“Many things that most people say don’t bother me, they don't affect me,” Green said. “I really don't give a damn, but KD says something I care. So I cared a lot when he said that about me last year. It means a lot to me and my personal growth, but also, anytime you hear from your peers and, especially the one's that are as great as Kevin Durant, and you hear him say, "The cerebral monster that he is, he's playing his best basketball, he's found that ultimate balance of ultra aggressive edge," when you hear that from your peers, especially won that you've gone to war with, won a championship with, and one opinion that really matters to you, I was extremely appreciative of his comments.”

Kevin Durant singing the praises of Warriors’ Draymond Green

In terms of the compliments that Durant sent Green’s way, he would call him a “cerebral monster,” which he witnessed as both won two championships with the Warriors alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

"When Draymond is at his best, it's like a good balance between being ultra aggressive and being on edge, and also just being a cerebral monster that he is,” Durant said per Sports Illustrated. “I think he's found that balance even better. I feel like he's always had it, but sometimes you tip the scales a bit, and I think he's found that balance as he's getting older, as he's experienced more things in the league, more things in life in general, you could just tell by the start of this season that he's playing his best ball."

At any rate, Golden State is 12-8 on the season as they are in the midst of a five-game losing streak where their next contest is against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

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