Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant says he has ‘NEVER seen’ anything like Draymond Green’s punch

Brookyln Nets all-star Kevin Durant has given his take on his former teammate Draymond Green punching fellow Golden State Warrior Jordan Poole in the face. 

Durant and Green did not always see eye to eye while the two were both with the Warriors. 

One well known argument between the two happened early during the 2018-2019 season when the duo got into a shouting match on the sidelines during a game, before DeMarcus Cousins of the Los Angles Clippers dragged Green away. The incident later carried over into the Warriors locker room before the two made amends.

‘That’s not the same situation,’ Durant told ESPN. ‘Somebody got punched in the face… It’s no comparison to that.

Brookyln Nets all-star Kevin Durant has given his take on his former teammate Draymond Green punching fellow Golden State Warrior Jordan Poole in the face 

The clip shows Green exchanging words with Poole along the baseline, before bumping chests with the smaller guard, who attempts to gently push the veteran forward out of the way as concerned teammates and coaches began to take notice

Draymond Green (L) sucker punched Golden State Warriors teammate Poole (R) during a recent practice, as captured in video obtained by TMZ

‘It was just some words that being — I heard people say that that happens a lot in the NBA. I had never seen nothing like that before.’

Famed commentator and former coach Jeff Van Gundy had a much harsher view of the situation, however. During a conference call with members of the media he expressed disappointment not only in Green, but also in the way the media covered the situation.

‘There’s two things about the Green situation that have disappointed me,’ Van Gundy said. ‘First, I thought the coverage of it was shameful, immediately jumping to blaming the victim, in this case Poole, for a change of attitude which would have warranted him getting struck.

Former coach Jeff Van Gundy (L) expressed disappointment not only in Green, but also in the way the media covered the situation

‘I just don’t get the victim blaming that immediately happened. The media, instead of trying to find out real facts, they went into their corner to people they were more beholden to. I found that very disappointing,’ he told ESPN.

The cause of the fight remains somewhat of a mystery. One report claimed teammates were upset that Poole had been talking incessantly about building a pool on his property and the banter ultimately got to Green, but Steph Curry has since called that theory ‘absolute BS.’

Van Gundy’s broadcast partner, former NBA player and coach Mark Jackson seemed to agree with Van Gundy while also commenting on the lack of punishment for Green.

Former NBA player and coach Mark Jackson commented on the lack of punishment for Green

‘It’s just not what you see,’ Jackson said. ‘I think the way you handle it is by having real discussions over it, holding guys accountable when that type of action takes place and staying true to your values.

‘Jeff would say what you wouldn’t accept in losing, you shouldn’t accept in winning. At the end of the day, you have to begin the healing process to understand that something took place that should never take place.’

‘I’m going to add one more thing. People are judging the punishment,’ he said. ‘There’s a lot we don’t know, but it didn’t involve a suspension. People reference to [Bobby] Portis and [Nikola] Mirotic [from the Bulls in 2017] was an eight-game suspension. Green got suspended for a game for yelling at [Kevin] Durant, so I think people are a little taken aback by why no suspension here. 

‘You’re gonna hear a lot of rhetoric, but this isn’t, like, a morality play. This is not an ethical decision. They’re making a decision — and these decisions are hard — based solely on what’s best for their team to win. I will say, I’m adamant in this, if Green had struck [Stephen] Curry like that — same exact scenario, same exact circumstances — there would’ve been a multi-game suspension.’