Sidelined Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant admitted that fallout from last November's verbal exchange with Draymond Green contributed to his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors this summer.
In a Thursday morning appearance on ESPN's "First Take," Durant was asked if the incident played a role in his departure.
"A little bit, yeah, for sure," Durant conceded.
"I mean, if your teammate talked to you that way, you'd think about it a bit," he added. "Like I said, we talked about it. But definitely. For sure. I'm not going to lie about it."
The heated moment stemmed from Green's decision not to pass the ball to Durant on a potential game-winning possession against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 12, 2018.
Beyond this public instance of friction, the 31-year-old felt the writing was on the wall for the aging, expensive roster.
"I just felt like I needed a switch," Durant said. "I felt like a lot of stuff in Golden State had reared its head and I felt like it was just going to be the end no matter what, especially for that group. Shaun Livingston was retiring. Andre Iguodala's getting older. Our contracts were going to stifle the team and put us in a hole to get other players, so it was time for all of us to kind of separate."
Durant continues to recover from rupturing his right Achilles tendon during the playoffs last season. By his own admission, he isn't expecting to play at all during the 2019-20 season.