"You got your a** bust" - Draymond Green calls out Suns GM for dodging responsibility on optimizing Kevin Durant's usage

Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green has taken issue with Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones for his recent comments about Kevin Durant. After the Suns' season ended, former player turned NBA executive Jones stated that his team is trying to be the first to maximize KD, implying that no one has done it yet.

Green took exception to this comment, pointing out that Durant's exceptional performances, particularly against the Cleveland Cavaliers, where Jones formerly played, were a result of the Golden State Warriors, led by Steve Kerr, effectively maximizing Durant's capabilities.

“James Jones was on a team in 2017 that lost in the NBA finals to Kevin Durant," Green said. "Kevin Durant averaged 35, on 8 rebounds and 5 assists. ... When you got your a** bust like the Cavs got their a** bust, I have a hard time believing that James Jones could then come out and say, ‘No one has been able to maximize Kevin Durant.’ "

He added that the way Jones' team is set up, they are not employing strategies to utilize Durant's strengths:

"When your team does not have plays to get Kevin Durant coming off a pin-down. Get Kevin Durant catching the ball at the elbow with a live dribble. Getting Kevin Durant to the spots that Kevin Durant wants to get to and likes to score from.

"When your team is set up that way, I’m sorry, but you didn’t maximize Kevin Durant. But don’t say nobody has maximized Kevin because you’ve been on the wrong side of Kevin Durant being maximized."

Kevin Durant and Warriors are in a similar position

After enjoying significant success together, Draymond Green's Warriors and Kevin Durant parted ways in the summer of 2019. KD had stops in Brooklyn and then Phoenix, joining superteams to compete for another NBA title, yet he has been unable to advance past the second round with either the Nets or the Suns.

On the other end, the Warriors won the 2022 NBA championship against the Boston Celtics. However, after that run, the team struggled to maintain competitiveness. Even though they're not together anymore, the Warriors and KD find themselves in a similar predicament, unable to keep pace in an NBA that keeps evolving.

It's unlikely that they'll reunite anytime soon, but perhaps a last dance could make Draymond Green's Warriors and Durant successful again.