Nevius: Warriors' dustup appears easily survivable

As we’ve always said, the only team that can stop the Warriors is the Warriors. If they don’t get along, it could ruin everything.

“All right,” the fellows said last week, “let’s give that a try.”

The Kevin Durant-Draymond Green hullabaloo has been parsed from every angle but 3D. As you know, Green lit into Durant after the last play in regulation during the overtime loss to the Clippers.

Green got in Durant’s grill, shouted lots of profanity and definitely went too far. It was, in other words, another day in the life of one of the most volatile people I’ve ever seen.

The result has been a tsunami of coverage that has included punditry, player reaction and slow-motion video lip reading. I have lost count of how many talking heads have looked into the TV camera to solemnly tell us, “This is serious.”

Which it surely is/was. Otherwise, why would the team publicly suspend Green? And what about the accounts of the famously sensitive Durant sitting outside the arena by himself, doing some deep thinking?

But let’s get a little perspective. The team is still the class of basketball. Going 0-for-?Texas wasn’t pretty, but let’s see how Green is playing post-suspension and what happens when Steph Curry returns from injury before we lower the lifeboats.

If you want a meltdown, we give you the Washington Wizards. They had player confrontations, a star player yelling “F-bomb you!” at the coach and another star calling out the GM from the practice floor. THAT’S a meltdown.

Who knows, maybe that is where the Warriors are headed.

But it didn’t look that way earlier this week, when Durant sat down cheerfully for a press session. He made jokes, laughed easily and was a pleasure to talk with. He can truly be a charming guy, even self-effacing.

When he finished that, he made a point to have a quick one-on-one chat with some of the local beat writers, even mending fences with a writer he snapped at earlier in the week. Now that’s how you handle the media. And how you make it clear you’re prepared to move on.

So all that stuff about team turmoil?

C’mon. If this is as bad as it gets, the season survives.

But something did happen. And it was one of those bad workplace dustups that has everyone talking among themselves and - worst of all - taking sides.

Let’s start with Durant, because although he’s the least to blame, he is the driving force.

Durant, as we know, will be a free agent at the end of the year. He will get boatloads and boatloads of money. Everyone will want him. He will be courted. He will be squired.

Is the place in the Hamptons still available?

And that’s fine. If you are shocked that Durant might leave for a huge paycheck, and intend to rally a group of OKC-like haters, good luck with that. I think everybody understands the business.

I asked him last week if he could go back and start the season over, would he begin with “I am not discussing free agency at all until the season is over”?

“I did say that, actually,” he said.

Well, sorta. But he’s also made some random comments about being ready to get paid. His brother, Tony, had a cryptic post on Instagram implying Kevin should win another ring “before we get outta here.” And then there was the billboard in New York, showing KD in a Knicks uniform.

For somebody not saying anything, it got pretty loud. There may have been some gritted teeth among the Warriors. And the inevitable, “We won this without you, you know.”

However …

The Warriors ownership is likely thinking they don’t have the worst hand in this game. Odd, wasn’t it, that KD got a personal tour of the new arena? With full media coverage?

You could do a lot worse, they are telling him. You like the area. You like the tech. We’re winning. And we’re about to move into the sweetest new arena in professional sportdom.

But go ahead and check out the Knicks’ offer. Oh and by the way, how do you like trudging through snow?

Enter Draymond Green, who was - God bless him - intending to play the final seconds of regulation against the Clippers like his hair was on fire. He gets the rebound and Durant claps for the ball, but Green takes it coast to coast and falls down as time expires.

Headed to the bench, Durant wants to know why he didn’t get the ball.

And Green, probably defensive after screwing up, yells stupid stuff. He gets madder and madder and finally says, reportedly:

“We don’t need you. Leave.”

At which point the Warriors’ brain trust smacks its collective face with its collective palm and yells: “What the F-bomb are you saying? You don’t speak for this franchise. We’re trying to convince him to stay.

“As a matter of fact, Draymond, if forced to make a choice, you or KD, you might be the one packing.”

And to reinforce the idea, they suspended him.

So, to review: there was a dustup. Feelings were hurt. Somebody seems to have convinced KD that he is appreciated and the franchise wants him to stay.

And they told Draymond to shut it.

I don’t have a problem with any of that.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cw.nevius@pressdemocrat.com. Twitter: @cwnevius