Draymond Green, a Golden State Warriors forward, is upset with a recent remark made by Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones.
Jones stated during his year-end news conference that one of the Suns’ aims is to “continue to figure out and maximize Kevin Durant.” The GM stated that no team has done that before, and the Suns would “be the first team to do it.”
That didn’t sit well with Green, who mentioned on “The Draymond Green Podcast” that Jones was a member of the 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers squad that fell to Durant and the Warriors in the NBA finals. Green believes the Warriors got the very best out of Durant at the time.
I was baffled when I watched James Jones make this comment,” Green said. “James Jones was on a team in 2017 that lost in the NBA Finals to Kevin Durant. And Kevin Durant averaged 35 (points), eight rebounds, and five assists on 55 percent from the field, 47 percent from three, 93 percent shooting. And when you got your a– bust like the Cavs got their a– bust, I have a hard time believing that James Jones could them come out and say no one has been able to maximize Kevin Durant.
The competitive veteran forward wasn’t done yet, either.
“When your team does not have plays to get Kevin Durant coming off a pindown, get Kevin Durant catching the ball at the elbow with a live dribble, getting Kevin Durant to the spots that Kevin Durant wants to get to and likes to score from…when your team is set up that way, I’m sorry, but you didn’t maximize Kevin Durant,” Green said. “But don’t say nobody has maximized Kevin Durant because you’ve been on the wrong side of Kevin Durant being maximized.”
Durant was not the only option in Golden State, but the same is true of his role in Phoenix. Green makes some pretty good points about how dominant Durant was in the 2017 Finals, though perhaps Jones wants to see it more consistently than that.
Whatever the case, it sounds like Durant certainly agrees that the Suns were not getting the most out of him offensively.
