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Kevin Durant Lays Out Reason He Vetoed Trade to Warriors on Draymond Green's Podcast

Suns star explains why trade to Warriors failed to materialize.

Kyle Koster

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
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The Golden State Warriors were pursuing a move that would bring Kevin Durant back to the Bay Area before the superstar made it known that he had no interest in such a trade. Warriors brass pivoted and set their sights on Jimmy Butler and added him instead for the stretch run.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr offered some insight on Durant's thought process before Durant himself weighed in.

"People talk crazy about me all the time," Durant told ESPN. "That's not the reason why I didn't want to come back, I just didn't want to get traded midway through the season. It was nothing against my time with the Warriors, or I heard because I don't like Draymond [Green]. At the end of the day I just didn't want to move and I wanted to see it through with my team in Phoenix and see what we could do the rest of this season. I'm glad I'm still there."

Appearing on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis this week, Durant once again addressed the topic.

“I didn’t want to move and I get why you want to trade me, simple fact that’s business but for me looking at it," he said. "We can play the season out and if that's the decision you want to make in the off-season then we figure it out.”

So this seems like can all go in the rearview window. Though it wouldn't be particularly surprising if the idea again gained some traction in the offseason.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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