It does not appear that all is well in the Bay Area.
On Monday, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green got into a heated argument during the Golden State Warriors’ overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, and the altercation reportedly spilled into the locker room with Green bringing up Durant’s impending free agency at one point.
The Warriors suspended Green for Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, and while some might think it’s just the emotions of two competitive guys boiling over, it appears there could be some underlying issues.
Durant’s brother, Tony, seemed to weigh in on the Green-Durant beef Wednesday with two cryptic Instagram posts.
“True colors ain’t hard to see when someone is mad!” Tony Durant wrote, via Bleacher Report. “It’s so much more clearer now. Instead of competing with what’s already written just follow along before the greatness is done rubbing off on you and people see you for what you really are …”
Shots fired.
Durant can become a free agent at the end of the season, and one Warriors player told The Athletic that Golden State expects the nine-time NBA All-Star to bolt next summer. The Warriors and Durant have had a successful marriage through two seasons, but it looks like a number of factors might be putting pressure on the relationship.
The 2007 No. 2 overall pick joined the Warriors following their 73-win season and has won two titles and two NBA Finals MVP awards. But he wasn’t around to help build the juggernaut from the ground up like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Green were, and the championships haven’t helped repair his image the way he hoped. Couple that with the star’s looming free agency decision and the fact Green undoubtedly is a difficult player to share the floor with on a nightly basis and you have some friction.
It seems like this could be the last ride for Durant and the Warriors. Then again, Golden State could hold a team meeting, squash the beef and run through the NBA en route to another title and re-sign Durant in the offseason.
