Durant Says the Incident Factored in His Decision to Leave

On October 31, 2019, in an interview on ESPN's First Take, Kevin Durant addressed his July 2019 free-agent decision and spoke directly about the November 12, 2018 exchange with Draymond Green, which had been widely reported in the media. Durant stated, 'I wish that wouldn't have happened. I feel like that was a situation that definitely could have been avoided. It really came out of nowhere,' and added that when 'your teammate talked to you that way, you think about it a bit... but definitely [it was a factor], for sure, I'm not going to lie about it' [2]. Durant framed the November 2018 episode as one element among multiple factors—he cited roster considerations and a 'need for a switch'—but his on-record admission provided a direct link between the locker-room confrontation and his decision to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in July 2019 [2]. The First Take remarks converted contemporaneous reporting and teammate speculation into a player-confirmed reason for departure.

Durant’s October 31, 2019 on-record statement is significant because it represents the primary source attribution from Durant himself that the November 2018 confrontation affected his decision-making: rather than remaining speculative reporting, the incident became a documented, admitted factor in a major roster move—Durant’s free-agent signing with Brooklyn [2]. That attribution reshaped analysis of the Warriors’ core breakup and of how intra-team conflict can affect personnel outcomes.

After Durant's public acknowledgement, media coverage and retrospective accounts incorporated the Nov. 12 incident into explanations for his 2019 departure; Warriors figures later reflected on the dispute, and in August 2021 Durant and Green discussed the episode together, shifting some focus to how management handled the aftermath [2][5]. Durant’s First Take remarks therefore served as a bridge between contemporaneous 2018 reporting and later joint reflections by the players [2][5].