Matt Barnes attempted to broker peace between Durant, Green
After a career spent as one of the NBA's premier agitators, Matt Barnes is hoping two of his former teammates are willing to give peace a chance.
The former Golden State Warriors forward - who helped the team win the 2016-17 title before retiring - reached out to Kevin Durant and Draymond Green in hopes that his ex-teammates could overcome their recent spat.
"I texted both those guys last night saying that, ‘This is what the world wants. The world wants this dysfunction between you guys because when you’re at the top, it’s lonely up there and people are always bidding for you and people always want you to fall,'" Barnes said on 95.7 The Game's Joe, Lo and Dibs show Wednesday.
A late season addition, Barnes made just 32 total appearances with the Warriors down the stretch in the 2016-17 season, but says he knows Green well enough to give him the benefit of the doubt after reports that the gregarious power forward went too far in a verbal altercation with Durant after Monday's game versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Draymond is one of the best teammates around," Barnes said. "His teammates will vouch for that and guys around the league that know the game understand that.”