There was almost a reunion for the Golden State Warriors last season. Leading up to the trade deadline, the Warriors were linked to All-Star forward Kevin Durant. There were talks that the Phoenix Suns star would finish the 2024-25 NBA season with a different franchise. However, the trade did not happen as Golden State acquired Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat.
Warriors star Draymond Green talked about the trade during his guest appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Green had experience playing with Durant. From 2016 to 2019, the star players ruled the Western Conference with fellow stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Together, they won two NBA championships and were in the NBA Finals the entire time. However, Durant went a different route and joined the Brooklyn Nets.
While he was on the evening show, Green revealed that the Warriors were close to sealing the deal with the Suns to trade for KD.
“I saw Joe Lacob (Warriors majority owner) and Joe gets excited, that’s my guy,” Green said.
“He goes, ‘Draymond, I think we’re gonna get Kevin Durant. It’s right there at the finish line. It’s happening. We’re getting KD back.'”
“We’re talking about it, and he’s like, ‘You think it’ll work?’ I’m like, ‘Absolutely.’ Then Joe comes running back a couple minutes later, like, ‘Draymond, Draymond—I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Don’t tell anyone.'”
Although the Warriors couldn’t get Durant, they still acquired an outstanding star player in Butler. With his help, Golden State secured the seventh seed and made it as far as the second round of the postseason.
Watching the playoffs still hurts, according to the Golden State Warriors star
The Golden State Warriors had a great first-round performance against the Houston Rockets. Against the young core of the Texas team, the Warriors outlasted them in seven games. However, they couldn’t replicate what they did in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mostly because of the strained hamstring of Stephen Curry.
Curry only played one game in the second round and couldn’t get back in time to save the team’s season. Weeks after their loss, Green revealed his real feelings about watching the remainder of the postseason.
“It’s hard to watch the games, still,” Green told Kimmel. “You don’t really get over it until it ends.
However, Green said that he still watches the postseason games for a specific reason.
“I do, because I have to do the podcast. I wouldn’t watch it if it weren’t for the podcast.”
Now that he’s a figure in sports media, Green has to be updated with the current events and is the reason why he’s still tuned in.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
