Draymond Green recalls Kevin Durant getting frustrated with Jayson Tatum during a Vegas scrimmage, telling him to be more aggressive and find his own voice instead of deferring to Durant. Green and Colin Cowherd discuss how Durant is shaping the next generation of Team USA stars and the importance of passing leadership to younger players.
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Hi, it's Colin Cowherd. I started The Volume to bring you some of the most authentic voices in sports. While you're here, make sure you hit subscribe.
Thanks. What I told everybody was, on our team, it was KD team, like—
Mm-hmm.
USA team, it was KD team, as it should have been. He was the one with the most experience, KD. But it felt like to me, and I wanna hear your thoughts. It felt like to me you were being primed for it to be your team this next go around. And maybe KD come back, maybe KD don't. But I felt like he was priming you like, "Hey JT, go give me a bucket, man. Hey, it's your turn. Come on now, go give me some buckets." And hearing the conversation, but also seeing how everyone else on our team, when it wasn't KD, everybody was turning to you. And you had games where you took over. So I like, how are you, did you feel that? Are you seeing that? Is that the goal? Like what is your goals moving forward with USA?
Yeah. No, I think you spot on. I think that played a huge part in my decision. I think I remember you calling me in the summertime and like telling me like, bro, I remember, I'll never forget. You said, bro, Forget all this stuff about rest. Like, we can rest when we retire. And I don't know, like, I'm like, yeah, but I'm only 23, 24. Like, I got the rest of my life after basketball to rest and do whatever I want. And like, this is, you know, nothing is promised. Like, this is a special opportunity. So after talking to you, and then the next thing was like, well, shit, K on the team. And I think for me, Like, I remember being 15 years old and going to K Camp in D.C. and, like, how excited I was to be there. And fast forward, you know, playing against him in the playoffs last year, and then now being on the same team as him and, like, getting to see how somebody that, like, I looked up to at one point, like, how he go about his routine, how he work, how he, you know, just think and see the game, you know, on a personal level. Like, we gonna be on the same team. That was, for me, it was like, "All right, yeah, I'm going." And I remember being out there in Vegas and like, I remember the first day we scrimmaged. And I remember we played the select team and they kicked our ass the first day. We was outta shape. [LAUGHTER] We was outta shape. We wasn't used to playing with each other. But I remember specifically coming down on the wing, somebody kicked me the ball and, on the Celtics, I would've shot it. And it was like a halfway, like I could've shot it. And I just remember K was to the next, it was to the right of me and I passed it to him. And I remember he got mad at me. He was like, he was like, "Yo, don't look for me." Like, he was like, "Be yourself. I need you to kill." And I was like, "Damn." Like, that was the first time I was like, "Like, nah." Like, he want me to hoop too.
Mm-hmm.
Like, don't look at it like that's KD. Like, no, we on the same team. He need me to do me on this team.
Absolutely.
And no, like, I mean, you right. Like, it definitely started to feel like that. Like, obviously we all knew it was his team, but just somebody like that in the middle of a game, you know, he come down the court, he telling me to post up, to give me the ball to go score, was like, all right, like, yeah, I'm working towards getting to that level. Like, I'm earning the respect of somebody like that. And ultimately like that was obviously us winning it, but like that was one of my favorite parts of being on the team. Just kind of like that moment, if that makes sense.
No, absolutely. And I actually remember the exact moment that you're talking about when you swung the ball to him, he like, "Hey man, come on now." I remember that exact moment, but I thought it was great because like I said, the reality is, Like, you should, it's on you to carry USA for at least the next 2 cycles. You know, like that's your thing moving forward. And like I said, even if KD come back on the next cycle for Paris, that's almost him just like coming to pass the baton. Like, yeah, I still got it and I'm still cold and I love to hoop.
Right.
But like, I'm really coming to pass the baton. And so I think, Like that should be your mindset. And what also should be your mindset is regardless of whatever happens this summer, I mean, or this season, this playoffs, you should be dedicated to having the absolute best summer of your life. And you already work, but there's more to be done because Your only goal next year, going into next year, should be like, "No, I'm 100% gonna be the MVP of the NBA next year." You should be the MVP of the NBA next year. Draymond Green.
