Heads up!听Draymond听Green has a new show in town, and, judging from the reception its first episode has generated, it figures to have a captive audience even beyond pro hoops circles. That he is headlining a Bleacher Report-backed听endeavor听speaks volumes not just of his ebullience; he holds popular appeal because of his willingness to discuss topics in an unfettered manner. As his guest appearances in such gabfests as the excellent听Inside the NBA听has underscored, he鈥檚 open to discussing practically anything and everything under the sun, and intelligently, too.听
Admittedly, Green鈥檚 inaugural show has elicited no small measure of interest because he managed to snag Kevin Durant as his guest. Fresh off a successful stint in the Tokyo Olympics, the Team USA starters proved at ease in their back-and-forth covering diverse topics, including their time together in the Warriors 鈥 and they held nothing back. Needless to say, they delved on their highly publicized spat during a game against the Clippers in late 2018, one that spilled over to the locker room and disrupted the esprit de corps that marked their previous championship runs.听
Judging from the way the 24-minute episode unfolded, Green and Durant have moved on from the incident, and to the point where they are again good friends. In fact, they went so far as to tag-team Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers, whom they said botched the resolution to the conflict and thereby ensured the departure of the two-time Finals Most Valuable Player听awardee听the following offseason. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the argument. It was the way everybody 鈥 Steve Kerr 鈥 acted like it didn鈥檛 happen. Bob Myers tried to discipline you and think that would just put the mask over everything. I really felt like that was such a big situation for us, the first time we went through something like that, we had to get that s*** all out,鈥 said the latter.听
In other words, Durant, who subsequently admitted that he packed his bags for the Nets in large part due to what happened, placed the blame squarely on the fallout and not the argument that preceded it. Never mind that, in the heat of the moment, Green dared tell him that 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a b****, and you know you鈥檙e a b****. We don鈥檛 need you. We won without you. Leave.鈥 Forget that the very front office they鈥檙e now throwing under the bus sided with him and suspended the one-time Defensive Player of the Year as a result.听
Perhaps Green and Durant are right. Perhaps things would have been better if the Warriors discussed the situation in the open instead of, in his words, 鈥渄ance[d] around it. I just didn鈥檛 like how all of that, just the vibe between all of that. It just made s*** weird to me. And I鈥檇 rather us be who we say we听are,听family first. Communication is听key. We didn鈥檛 show that and that鈥檚 what rubbed me the wrong way more than anything.鈥 Then again, the benefit of hindsight provides no more than wistful sentiment. And because they brought it up anew, they may yet听wind up听forcing others, Kerr and Myers included,听to pick听at scabs.听
At the start of听Chips, Green explained that the show鈥檚 title 鈥渟tems from exploring that chip on your shoulder.鈥 Considering the response, it鈥檚 clear that he met the objective. Achievement unlocked. Whether that achievement came from Pandora鈥檚 box remains to be seen.
