Draymond Green called Kevin Durant after the Warriors lost Game 7

The Warriors were able to sign Kevin Durant last summer, not only because of an unprecedented spike in the salary cap, but also because they squandered a 3-1 series lead to lose in their NBA Finals showdown against the Cavaliers. And immediately after that deflating Game 7 loss at home, it was Draymond Green, according to ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe, who never left Oracle Arena.

Instead, he sat in his car and made the phone calls that orchestrated one of the most significant free-agent signings in league history.

Writes Lowe:

Green was already working on that as he left Oracle Arena after that gutting Game 7 loss. Green sat in his car in the parking lot and called Myers, telling him he had to sign Durant. “It’s on you,” Green told Myers.

Green hung up, stayed in the parking lot, and made another call — to Durant. “That was my very next call,” Green said. Two weeks later, Durant signed a maximum contract that put him in a Golden State uniform for at least one season, with several more seasons likely to come.

“If we win the championship, I’m like 99 percent sure we don’t get him,” Green said. “There are silver linings to everything.”

In a July 2016 interview with DraftKings, Green said he wasn’t allowed to officially recruit KD until July 1, but he’s at least able to text back and forth with someone he considers a friend.

“But once July 1 hit, I did,” Green said. “I had sent so many texts to him over those last three days, I’m not sure the exact amount or number. I can’t even give you a ballpark. I just know it was probably too many.

“But it worked. So I’m all right with that.”

Durant courted several teams. He met with the Thunder first, then the Warriors and Clippers. He met with the Spurs and the Celtics, who used Tom Brady as part of their pitch. Lastly, he met with the Heat.

Durant decided to leave Russell Westbrook and the Thunder for a cast of selfless Warriors All-Stars on July 4 — Independence Day. He became the crux of their game plan, both on offense and defense, and helped Golden State secure the West’s No. 1 seed before sweeping through each round of the playoffs.

Durant’s now the likely Finals MVP for a Warriors team on the brink of sweeping the defending champs and threatening to go on the first 16-0 playoff run in NBA history. He’s set to do so at all-time high efficiency numbers. It’s a match made in heaven for a guy who just couldn’t get over the hump in OKC, for one reason or another.

And the credit goes to Draymond Green for orchestrating one of the most devastating free-agent acquisitions in the history of this sport.