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Following the Golden State Warriors‘ latest win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which improved the team’s record to 15-13, the Warriors star forward and former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green, sounded off on the NBA’s recent treatment of its disgruntled superstars.
In his postgame comments, Green illustrated his issues with how Brooklyn Nets All-Star shooting guard James Harden was treated in his exit from the Houston Rockets, how the media discussed Nets All-Star guard Kyrie Irving during his break from the team, and the initially how the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently treating their center, Andre Drummond.
“I would like to talk about something that’s really bothering me,” Green stated after the Warriors victory via ESPN. “And it’s the treatment of players in this league. To watch Andre Drummond, before the game, sit on the sidelines, then go to the back, and to come out in street clothes because a team is going to trade him, it’s bulls—.”
“Because when James Harden asked for a trade, and essentially dogged it, no one’s going to fight back that James was dogging it his last days in Houston, but he was castrated for wanting to go to a different team. Everybody destroyed that man. And yet a team can come out and say, ‘Oh, we want to trade a guy,’ and then that guy has to go sit, and if he doesn’t stay professional, then he’s a cancer. And he’s not good in someone’s locker room, and he’s the issue.”
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Green Calls For More Respect for NBA Players
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Green has always been known for saying how he feels and this situation is no different. Moving past the most recent Nets and Cavaliers, he then discussed what previously happened between former Sacramento Kings star center, and current Houston Rocket, DeMarcus Cousins and former Dallas Maverick, and now Sacramento Kings, forward, Harrison Barnes.
And we’re seeing situations of Harrison Barnes getting pulled off the bench. Or DeMarcus Cousins finding out he’s traded in an interview after the All-Star Game, and we continue to let this happen. But I got fined for stating my opinion on what I thought should happen with another player, but teams can come out and continue to say, ‘Oh, we’re trading guys, we’re not playing you.’ And yet we’re to stay professional.
At some point, as players, we need to be treated with the same respect,” Green further explained. “And have the same rights that the team can have. Because as a player, you’re the worst person in the world when you want a different situation. But a team can say they’re trading you. And that man is to stay in shape, he is to stay professional. And if not, his career is on the line. At some point, this league has to protect the players from embarrassment like that.
Green Talks Lakers Superstar & Nets All-Star Frustrations
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Finishing his lambasting of the NBA and how the media covers some situations, he explained the differences between the Drummond and former New Orleans Pelicans, now Los Angeles Lakers star, Anthony Davis situations, and their treatment and outcomes.
“We talk all of this stuff about: ‘You can’t do this, you can’t say this publicly,'” Green said. “If you say that publicly … Anthony Davis got fined I think $100,000 or something like that for demanding a trade, but you can say Andre Drummond’s getting traded publicly and we’re looking to trade him publicly, and he’s to stay professional and just deal with it?”
Next, he commented on Kyrie Irving and how even mental health isn’t as delicate of a topic to discuss as some previously made it seem to be.
“And then when Kyrie Irving says, ‘Oh, my mental health is off,’ everybody go crazy about that too. Do you not think that affects someone mentally?” Green questioned. “As much as we put into this game to be great, to come out here and be in shape, to produce for fans every single night, and most importantly, to help your team win, do you think that doesn’t affect someone mentally?”
“As players, we’re told to, ‘Ah, no, you can’t say that, you can’t say this. But teams can? It goes along the same lines of when everyone wants to say, ‘Ah, man, that young guy can’t figure it out.’ But no one wants to say the organization can’t figure it out. At some point, the players must be respected in these situations, and it’s ridiculous, and I’m sick of seeing it. Y’all have a great night. I’ll see y’all [Tuesday] or Wednesday.”
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