Kevin Durant explains his criticism of Draymond Green

It's been a month since Kevin Durant reacted to Draymond Green's ejection following his slap on Suns center Jusuf Nurkic. Kevin Durant told reporters afterward, "Yeah, that was insane to see. Glad Nurk is all right. Never seen that before on a basketball court in an NBA game. It has been incident after incident. I know Draymond, and he hasn't been that way when I was around him and coming into the league. So, hopefully, he gets the help he needs and can get back on the court and put all that stuff behind him."

Well, it's been a month, and Draymond Green is back. But who would've guessed KD's words would eventually turn into fuel for Draymond Green's rediscovery journey? On Monday, Green took to his podcast, "The Draymond Green Show" to reflect on his indefinite suspension. This included Green sharing how Durant's comments made him feel.

Healthy dialogue between Durant and Green is refreshing

Green said on his podcast, "I'll tell you, it really pissed me off when Kevin Durant said, 'he wasn't like that when I was around, I hope he gets the help he needs...'" However, Green explained that once he looked at Kevin's statement the right way, "through the right mindset, through the right lens," Green explained, "He's acknowledging essentially what I want the world to know about me."

It turns out Durant's comments led Draymond to an epiphany. Green explained how he realized he associated the word 'help' with negativity. He admitted he was listening to the word 'help' with the same mindset that the word 'help' meant when he was 15 years old. As Durant explained later, Green realized Durant was not saying that as negatively as he was taking it. "And even if he was," Green said, "I made a decision in that moment that I wasn't going to take it that way. And for me, it was a very proud moment for me." According to Green, this was a breakthrough moment for him, as it highlighted areas where he needed improvement.

Following the Phoenix Suns' 111-138 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, reporters asked if KD had heard Draymond's response. Durant defended his response.

"Well, you gotta look at it from my perspective," Durant said, "Like, before I had made those comments, they saying Draymond was going to therapy and s***. like, what am I supposed to think?" Durant shrugged, palms to the sky. "They saying somebody going to therapy, I hope he get better from that and hope he learn from whatever he feel like he needs to learn from going to therapy."

Durant continued, "I'm glad he's back. I'm glad he can move past that. Draymond is an incredible teammate. He got his times where he lose his temper, but everybody has those times. I'm sure they're all happy to have him back." Durant added that he meant no ill will by what he said. "I know some people look at me as this malicious snake, passive-aggressive." Durant chuckled. "I know how people feel about me sometimes. When I say s***, I don’t mean no harm about nobody. I don’t mean to disrespect him or his family if he felt that way. I’m just glad he’s back on the court."

Durant concluded by saying he was glad Draymond is back and able to talk about the situation. He even said he can't wait for Draymond to get back to playing so he can finish his hall of fame career. High praise from the Slim Reaper. All in all, this was a lovely Kumbaya moment for the former teammates, as they've come a long way from their former disagreements and rifts.