Warriors' Kevin Durant has not cleared the air with Draymond Green

OAKLAND – His words sounded short, curt and detached of emotion.

Has Warriors forward Kevin Durant hashed things out with Draymond Green after the two had a heated discussion at the end of regulation of Monday's eventual overtime loss to the Clippers?

“No,” Durant said.

Does Durant see that happening anytime soon?

“I'm sure it will,” Durant said. “We have a long season ahead.”

The Warriors have a long season ahead indeed. They finished with a 110-103 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at Oracle Arena, a night that Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team felt “a little fatigued and emotionally spent.” The reasons had little to do with the Warriors (12-3) struggling against the Hawks (3-11). They still relied on Durant (29 points on 9-of-23 shooting) and Klay Thompson (24 points on 8-of-19 shooting) to lead the way. Warriors guard Quinn Cook still filled in for Stephen Curry's absence with a left groin injury with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds. And Kerr touted Jonas Jerebko as the team's MVP after posting 14 points and 13 rebounds as the starting forward.

Jerebko did not help the Warriors absorb Green's absence from an injury, though. He missed Tuesday's game because the Warriors issued a one-game suspension to Green for calling Durant “a bitch,” a vulgarity one player said was the tamest language during their heated argument after Green did not pass Durant the ball on the final play before committing a turnover that resulted in overtime. According to one team source, the Warriors punished Green for his actions on the bench and did not base the punishment on the team's discussion in the locker room afterwards.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers said he and Warriors coach Steve Kerr were the primary decision makers, while stressing that Durant had no input. Not that it apparently matters since Durant expressed apathy on whether Green played.

“I was just focused on the game,” Durant said. “I didn't really care either way.”

Telling words considering the Warriors tout Green as a unique All-Star that bolsters the team with his defensive smarts, playmaking and intensity. Yet, that quality also explains why Durant spoke about Green on Wednesday with the same enthusiasm as receiving root canal. Green reportedly also chewed out Durant by bringing up his pending free agency.

Did Green cross a line?

“I'm going to keep that in house. That's what we do here,” Durant said. “Obviously, I know you guys have a job to do. But I'm not trying to give nobody no headlines. What happened, happened. We're just trying to move on and play basketball.”

How do the Warriors move on?

The Warriors downplayed the implications for various reasons. So much that Curry said with a smile before the game that “everything is great!”

For a team that worries about playoff games in April, May and June, the Warriors believe they have time to fix a spat in November. Kerr expressed understanding after once punching former teammate Michael Jordan during practice, an incident that led Kerr to boast that “I kicked MJ's ass.”

“I think we'll be fine,” Kerr said. “We're a team that goes through stuff just like everybody else. Things happen. Bumps in the road. You gotta move forward. That's all part of coaching a team, being on a team. You have to get through the adversity and there are some difficult times and you get through them.”

Durant and Green have already gotten through difficult times ever since Durant joined the Warriors as a free agent in the 2016 offseason.

That season, Green yelled at Durant after a late-game miscommunication against Memphis in a game the Warriors squandered a 24-point lead. A month later, Green yelled at Durant on the sidelined during a loss to Sacramento. When Green sent a lengthy text message to Durant about improving his play before Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against New Orleans, Durant credited Green for motivating him.

“KD and Draymond don't usually take things personally,” Looney said. “They're good at moving on.”

Some on the Warriors predicted the same thing.

After calming Durant down at the end of regulation, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala likened to spat to typical family issues and that they remain brothers. When a reporter wondered if Durant and Green are like ‘Cain' and ‘Abel' from the Old Testament, Iguodala mused, “I don't think nobody is trying to kill the other one.”

Cook, who is one of Durant's best friends on the team, predicted the issue will “make us stronger.” He also believed that Durant will forgive Green quickly.

So quickly that Thompson guessed it will happen so long as the Warriors win their three-game trip this week in Houston (Thursday), Dallas (Saturday) and San Antonio (Sunday).

“They're grown. They'll be fine. I love both of those guys,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day, we're on the same team and same goal. That's to three peat. I don't think either one of them will lose sight of that whether it's personal agenda or whatever. I think we'll get far past that.”

What message did the Warriors send with their suspension?

Others aren't so sure. After all, consider Durant's stance on evaluating the state of his relationship.

“I don't really think that even matters at this point right now,” Durant said.

When asked if the relationship can be repaired, a player responded, “on the court, yes. Up in the air for off the court.” Other team sources offered conflicting perspectives on if the Warriors will rectify this situation or exacerbate with how they handled this episode.

By issuing Green a one-game suspension, the Warriors hope that Green eventually becomes contrite and apologizes to Durant just as he did after having an argument in the 2015-16 season with Kerr. There is concern, though, that Green will feel that the Warriors are setting him up to be a scapegoat should Durant remain unhappy and eventually leave the Warriors. Regardless of if Durant re-signs or leaves with the Warriors, could this affect Green's outlook on staying with them once he becomes a free agent in 2020?

By standing up for Durant, the Warriors are offering another signal that they will value and support him leading into his free agency. But with Durant saying he does not want the Warriors to perform any subtle recruiting stunts, there is a fear that he will interpret the team's latest stunt as disingenuous.

All of which has brought up an interesting dichotomy. How much does Durant's uncertain free agent future create unspoken tension and uncomfortable feelings among the front office, coaching staff and players?

“Not the slightest bit. Nobody every talks about Kevin's free agency. It doesn't bother any of us,” Kerr said. “This is the NBA. These guys are either under contract or they're upcoming free agents. It's the business. We're focused on this year. I don't think anybody in our locker room, anybody on our coaching staff, thinks twice about Kevin's free agency this summer.”

That explains why those in the Warriors' locker room say they rarely talk about Durant's free agency among each other. Sure, a few of Durant's playfully teammates joked to him about his free agency when the Warriors played last month in New York, which featured billboards pleading for him to play the Knicks. Other than that though, the Warriors say they do not say much about Durant's free agency. Green reportedly addressed the issue, though, and it obviously stuck with Durant.

So as Durant wrapped up his terse news conference, he did not offer much hope or clarity if this fight ultimately strengthens his relationship with Green.

“Who knows?” Durant said. “We'll see.”

So will the Warriors, which offered a blend of optimism, defensiveness and uncertainty on what's ahead.

*Staff writer Logan Murdock contributed to this report