Pacific Notes: Green, West, Randle

Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Draymond Green were once again seen in a verbal altercation Saturday night. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, it was all part of a master plan by Green.

“Nothing in general” led to the altercation, the Warriors forward said Tuesday. “It was actually a tactic. But that’s for us to know and for everyone else to figure out.”

Green, Hayes writes, was trying to use reverse psychology to motivate his struggling teammate and supposedly followed it up by winking and smiling at some of the Warriors coaching staff.

Earlier this month Green and Durant were seen arguing with one another on the court when the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies.

Despite their interesting relationship, Green and Durant are said to have watched the Super Bowl together the day after the incident, suggesting that the altercation caused no hard feelings. With a 43-8 record, the Warriors have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to locker room chemistry.

There are more headlines out of the Pacific Division today:

• The Warriors may need to compete with the Lakers if they want to convince 78-year-old executive Jerry West to stay with the team after his contract expires in July, writes Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
• Veteran forward P.J. Tucker knows how to get the most out of his younger teammates and his tough-love approach has been put in effect with current Suns rookies Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender, writes Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.
• The Lakers handed out significant contracts to veterans Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng over the offseason but lately the tandem has been coming off the bench, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “I’m not going to say it’s permanent, but we’re going to see how it goes,” head coach Luke Walton said, citing the need to develop young players as the reason for the decision.
• Limited to just five minutes over the previous four games, Julius Randle has recovered from pneumonia and and returned to the lineup for the Lakers on Monday. The power forward is expected to be at full strength heading forward, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
• There are plenty of assets on the Suns roster, writes Kevin O’Conner of the Ringer. The scribe breaks down what could be next for Phoenix, including franchise cornerstone Devin Booker and “good-but-not-great” point guard Eric Bledsoe.