It wasn't long ago that the fate of the NBA's most recent dynasty looked like it was starting to crumble, as Draymond Green and Kevin Durant engaged on a heated altercation at the bowels of the Staples Center. Yet Green got the first taste of some cold-served truth upon attempting to make amends with his teammate, who he had called out in front of the rest of his team after an overtime loss to the L.A. Clippers.
Durant was receptive, but he wasn't buying Green's excuse of getting emotional at times after seeing him hold it together in other verbal back-and-forths of similar nature.
That challenge was only the start of what Green views as his all-around maturation this season.
“Absolutely,” Green told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne when discussing the incident with Durant. “I thought about it, and it goes back to, ‘Is this [losing control] working for me or against me?'”
General manager Bob Myers was forced to break the news of his team-issued one-game suspension, but knew matters wouldn't escalate after Green and Durant made amends.
“It shows a lot for him to be able to acknowledge and say, ‘Yeah, Kevin's right in that comment,'” said Myers.
It was also Myers who had to tell Green he wasn't in great shape, quickly learning Green was well-aware of that and had a plan to change it.
Green shed 25 pounds over the next month of play, which only spearheaded his ability to conquer other things beyond his weight.
“Having that control, it carries over to other areas in your life,” said Green of his dieting. “We all love to eat. We all enjoy the things that we enjoy. If I can conquer that and not do that, why can't I conquer my emotions, too? Well, maybe I can f***ing conquer my emotions! Maybe I can conquer anything else! And so I think honestly that has really helped put me in a different state.”
Green has yet to receive a technical foul since first Apr. 30, when he was whistled for one in Game 2 against the Houston Rockets, one that would eventually be rescinded by the league.
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