Draymond Green’s altercation with Jordan Poole has caused an unnecessary stir for the reigning champions, leading all across the NBA to weigh in. Kevin Durant, who played for the Warriors and was teammates with Green for three seasons, gave his take on the drama.
Specifically, he addressed the comparison between Green hitting Poole during practice to when he and Green got into a heated verbal altercation in the middle of a game while teammates back in 2018.
“That’s not the same situation,” Durant told ESPN. “Somebody got punched in the face … It’s no comparison to that. It was just some words that being—I heard people say that that happens a lot in the NBA. I had never seen nothing like that before. But what me and Draymond did a few years back, that s— happens all the time. So it’s easy to get through something like that, but I don’t know what this situation is like.”
Green is set to return to the team after stepping away and receiving an undisclosed fine for hitting Poole. A video leaked by TMZ showed the two exchanging words before Green punched Poole in the face after it was initially reported the two got in an altercation. Green has since apologized for his actions. Durant also says for someone to punch another payer on their team is not common, despite outside noise that would indicate it is.
“It’s rare,” Durant told ESPN. “It’s rare. I’ve been in the league 16 years and I’ve never seen that until the other day on camera. You hear about it with [Michael Jordan] and you hear about it with Bobby Portis, but there’s nothing that’s happening every year. It’s very rare that something like that happens.
“It’s none of our business. But it happened to be part of our daily conversation because we’ve seen the videos,” he continued. “We’ve all got our opinions, but to be honest, mine’s don’t matter. It is what it is.”
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