ESPN’s Zach Lowe published a piece on Thursday detailing the redemption of Draymond Green following last year’s debacle in the NBA Finals, where his suspension from Game 5 helped Cleveland get back in the series, and ultimately overcome a 3-1 deficit. There are a number of fascinating tidbits, (you can, and should, read the entire piece here) many of which center around his teammates ability to forgive him for his outburst, and how the team stuck together after one of the greatest choke jobs in NBA history.
Perhaps the most fascinating anecdote, however, is the story of what Draymond did directly after losing Game 7. According to Lowe, Green sat in his car in the parking lot at Oracle Arena and made two phone calls. The first was to general manager Bob Myers. The second, was to Kevin Durant, who the Warriors had just knocked out of the playoffs in the previous series.
Green was already working on that as he left Oracle Arena after that gutting Game 7 loss. Green sat in his car in the parking lot and called Myers, telling him he had to sign Durant. “It’s on you,” Green told Myers.
Green hung up, stayed in the parking lot, and made another call — to Durant. “That was my very next call,” Green said. Two weeks later, Durant signed a maximum contract that put him in a Golden State uniform for at least one season, with several more seasons likely to come.
“If we win the championship, I’m like 99 percent sure we don’t get him,” Green said. “There are silver linings to everything.”
It had already been well documented that Green was one of the most aggressive recruiters of Durant throughout last season, a tactic that ultimately paid off, and led to the construction of maybe the greatest team in NBA history. Does that make up for Green’s actions in last year’s Finals? If it leads to multiple titles, it just might.
