Getty/Ezra Shaw Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors attempts to tussle the ball away from opponent Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia Sixers at Chase Center in San Francisco.
With the Brooklyn Nets now swept and eliminated from playoff contention, Twitter and pundits have been clowning Kevin Durant for leaving the Golden State Warriors for the disappointing Nets.
But it has not just been Durant. After Ben Simmons decided to sit out Game 4 for the Nets, the backlash and trolling have been nonstop.
On April 25’s edition of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith had a field day with Simmons and Kyrie Irving. Many of those clips have gone viral and can be found all over the Internet.
However, during the end of the show, Smith threw in an interesting nugget that related to the Warriors.
“Do you know that when Ben Simmons first let it be known that he wanted to get traded,” Smith says during a segment on the Warriors (1:01:11 mark). “They were talking about trying to get Draymond Green, and Steph Curry was like, ‘Oh hell no’…now he didn’t use those words, but from what I was told, it was a no.”
This was something that Smith claimed transpired months ago, but it would be tough to fathom the Warriors really trying to pull the trigger on such a deal. With how Simmons crumbled during the 2021 playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, it just does not make sense for Bob Myers and the front office to do such a risky deal.
Over the years, Smith’s reporting has been called out by players in the past, and has not often been known to be reliable, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. However, Smith does have almost three decades in the industry (as he likes to remind us), so it would not be fair to say all his sources were not reputable.
Draymond Green Reacts to Nets Sweep
After his old teammate, Kevin Durant, was officially eliminated by the Boston Celtics, Draymond Green fired off a cryptic tweet that coincided with the ending.
😂😂😂😂😂👀👀👀👀
Green denies that he was talking about the Nets, but many people probably are not going to buy it.
Y’all thought I was laughing at the nets getting swept? I’m a little more blatant than that. Y’all can at least give me credit for that 😂😂😂
So many people still wonder why Durant would leave such a great situation with the Warriors, and many do not feel sorry at all for Durant’s struggles with the Nets. Could Green be one of those people? Perhaps, but he has not publicly said anything about that.
Draymond Green Sounds Off on Andrew Wiggins Haters
Mired with the fascinating play of the Splash Brothers and Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins has quietly been posting consistent numbers as a member of the ‘death lineup’. With averages of 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds on 54% shooting against the Nuggets, Wiggins is not posting numbers that would jump out at anyone, but like Green, his impact on the floor speaks more than just the numbers.
“I’ve been saying it in the last couple of games, Wiggins is playing incredible basketball,” Green says after the win in Game 3. “I know most people gonna look and say ‘Oh man, he had nine points.’ And it really just shows you the lack of knowledge around the game of basketball and how people can’t watch the game and dissect what’s really going on. Because Wiggins has been playing incredible basketball on both ends of the floor.”
With 3:05 left in Game 3, Wiggins hit a three pointer that gave the Warriors the lead for good, and helped seal the Dubs third win against the Nuggets in the series. Since the team has so much offensive firepower, Wiggins has had to pick his spots, and for the most part, he has delivered.
The Warriors look to finish off the Denver Nuggets April 27 back in San Francisco at Chase Center.