“Steph, I felt like, opened the door to his home for Kevin” - Draymond Green says Steph Curry and himself showed Kevin Durant the ultimate sign of respect, says “we’re all brothers”
Kevin Durant's exit from the Golden State Warriors in 2019 came as a shock to many, especially former teammate Steph Curry. With the Warriors dominating the NBA, no one expected the forward to exit the franchise where he had won back-to-back championship rings.
The dominance of the Warriors between 2015-2019 featured the team winning three titles while appearing in five consecutive NBA Finals. While Durant was an integral part of the last two titles, the Warriors won the 2015 championship without the 12-time All-Star.
After losing the 2016 NBA Finals to LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors landed KD to strengthen the team for a championship ring. His signing did the trick as they won the 2017 and 2018 championships.
Victory slipped away from their grasp in the 2019 NBA Finals after Durant and Klay Thompson got injured. Their injuries hampered them as the Toronto Raptors won.
On "The Old Man & The Three," Green recollected Durant's exit, saying that Curry showed Durant the ultimate respect by inviting him to his home (the Warriors).
"I think the ultimate sign of respect that you can show someone is to invite them into your home," Green said. "The ultimate respect you can give me is to open the door to your home for me. Steph, I felt like, opened the door to his home for Kevin, and Kevin came in. And, goddamnit, this is home for you, too. We're all brothers.
"None of this stuff works without Kevin. We all know that."
Draymond Green believes Kevin Durant should have stayed with the Golden State Warriors
When asked about his reasons for leaving the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant said he "felt it was time for a change." He had also talked about wanting to play for a new team and not thinking about what he was leaving behind. He just wanted the adventure.
"I felt like it was time for a change. I wanted to play for a new team," Durant said during the Brooklyn Nets' 2019 media day. "Simply put, I just did it. I didn't really think about what I was leaving behind or what we accomplished. I put that up on the shelf already. When it was time to make a decision on my future, I just thought solely about me."
But he also said he was not entirely accepted as deep down he knew he would never be part of the guys. He argued that other players had roots with the franchise but he didn't and didn't feel like he'd ever grow them.
"Steph Curry, obviously, drafted there. Andre Iguodala, won the first Finals, first championship," Durant said. "Klay Thompson, drafted there. Draymond Green, drafted there. And the rest of the guys kind of rehabilitated their careers there.
"So me? S—, how you going to rehabilitate me? What you going to teach me? How can you alter anything in my basketball life? I got an MVP already. I got scoring titles. As time went on, I started to realize I'm just different from the rest of the guys. It's not a bad thing. Just my circumstances and how I came up in the league.
"And on top of that, the media always looked at it like KD and the Warriors. So, it's like nobody could (give) a full acceptance of me there."
The Warriors knew Kevin Durant was likely leaving for another team in July 2019. They figured out a plan from there. But first he had to make his choice. “We were rooting a little bit secretly for it to be Brooklyn,” Joe Lacob said. Here's why:
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Green was of the opinion that as long as it worked, there was no need to change. He shared his grievance, saying that Durant was welcomed into their home and was successful in it. Rather than stay in it and continue the success, Durant left the franchise abruptly.
"But for me to open this door for you and you come home and then it's successful, I feel like that should go on and on and then you just kind of abruptly exit," Green said.