Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green says he forfeited millions for Kevin Durant trade. Is that true?

As the story goes, it was Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green who texted Kevin Durant from the parking lot with tears in his eyes, while begging him to join the Dubs following a Game 7 loss in the 2016 Finals. Needless to say, the tale has been retold many times over and with increased spice every time. The reality of what happened that day, however, is not so extravagant.

Draymond Green clears the air on Kevin Durant texts

Warriors fans will likely remember with some horror the manner in which their team capitulated in the 2016 NBA Finals as Steph Curry and Co. blew a 3-1 lead to the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. They will also certainly recall the fervor that surrounded an alleged conversation that took place between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant. Yet, what they may not know is that much of what was said in the media, was not actually said between the two stars. Speaking back in 2021 on an episode of “The ETCS podcast Kevin Durant”, the pair actually openly discussed what went down that day:

Durant: “I done heard a couple stories. From my end, we sent some texts on just, ‘Yo, I seen that? You seen that? Alright, bet. That’s really what it was, bro. It wasn’t no urgent FaceTime call. It was exactly what I just said. ‘Yo, you see what just happened?’ ‘Bet. Alright, I’m on the way.’

Green: “That’s exactly what it was. It was this whole narrative of, ‘You called Kevin crying from the parking lot.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, this s--t can ... like y’all added a theatrical sense to make this s--t a movie. You got to make s--t for TV, but you got to add on a little bit. So people just started pouring on bro, but I wasn’t about to come out and fight it. However, y’all think Kevin got here in your mind, just roll with that if that’s what helps you out.”

So, Draymond Green took a pay cut for Kevin Durant?

Now, while we have gained some perspective on how things went between the two veterans, it doesn’t negate the idea that Green definitely wanted Durant to join the Warriors. Indeed, that’s something that the big man not only acknowledged but admitted that he actively made happen by reducing his salary demands to make a potential deal more feasible. For the purpose of context, it was 2015, and Green was in the middle of contract negotiations after his rookie deal expired. Where the team was concerned, the Warriors had just won their first championship in 40 years and quite frankly, Green was a large part of the reason why.

To that end, he could easily have asked for up to $93 million on a max deal from the franchise. This is where things get interesting. According to Green’s comments during a recent appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony, he took $82M to ensure the Warriors would at least have an opportunity to sign Kevin Durant the following summer. It should be said that a 2015 Yahoo Sports article seems to contradict that by indicating that both parties broke off negotiations back in 2015, something that would suggest Green simply put a positive spin on the fact that the team wasn’t going to pay him, but that’s water under the bridge now as they say. At any rate, it would appear the 34-year-old power forward is going with a version of the story that paints him as the guy who took one for the team.

“When I signed my deal [in 2015], B.J. Armstrong was my agent. The conversation me and B.J. had was, ‘listen, here’s [the Warriors’] whole [salary] cap table. Here’s what it is next year. The cap next year jumps to this. Look who’s a free agent next year. KD. Here’s [the amount of money] you can take, and y’all will still be able to pay [KD] max. The number was five [years] for $85 [million].’” As we know, Green ended up with a five-year, $82 million deal. Whether he could have gotten a deal or not remains irrelevant at this point. What’s certain is that KD joined the Warriors and the team became one of the greatest we’ve ever seen in NBA history.