Getty Images Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Draymond Green has never been afraid to stir the pot. It’s something the four-time NBA champion does better than anybody through his words and actions. And he usually does it with his trademark smile.
Green flashed those pearly whites and went off during a recent appearance on The Old Man & The Three podcast with JJ Redick. One of his more interesting trash-talking stories centered on Sixers president Daryl Morey, the main architect behind the 2018 Houston Rockets. Green and the Warriors won the championship, but Morey’s comments earlier that year proved to be a motivating factor.
The Warriors went on to beat the Rockets in seven games during the Western Conference Finals. Green revealed his advice to Morey and his gameplan for stopping James Harden in that series:
Their biggest mistake was Daryl Morey coming out and saying this team is built to beat the Warriors, like we built this team specifically to beat the Warriors. What I will say, Daryl Morey, real G’s move in silence. They just kind of do what they do.
And they move in silence, Daryl. If you take any advice from this interview, Daryl – that was their biggest mistake. They came out and were like this team was built to beat the Warriors. We didn’t think they could beat us.
Why didn’t we think they could beat us? Our gameplan was to let James Harden do everything he’s going to do. We’re probably not going to stop him and that’s fine. But we’re going to stop everyone else, and then James is going to get tired because he’s dribbling the ball 32 times per possession. I don’t care how good of shape you’re in. I don’t care how good you are, that is taxing.
This is a perfect 1:00am can’t fall asleep slightly buzzed YouTube video.
Watch: t.co/jbZuHPiZVO
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Morey Recreating 2018 Rockets in Philly?
The 2018 Houston Rockets finished with the best record in the NBA. They were supposed to win the championship. And now the running joke is that Morey is trying to recreate that 2018 Houston Rockets team in Philadelphia.
Morey traded for James Harden at last year’s trade deadline, then inked P.J. Tucker in free agency. He has since added other players with Houston ties: Trevelin Queen, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House Jr. And rumors persist they want to trade for Eric Gordon.
Better Than ‘Some’ Teams in Eastern Conference
Morey was asked on draft night if he thought his retooled Sixers squad was good enough to compete with the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Those squads being the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks – and maybe the Brooklyn Nets depending on how the Kyrie Irving-Kevin Durant drama plays out. The confident front-office executive thinks the Sixers are right there.
“Those are tough teams. I think we can compete with them, absolutely, all of them,” Morey told reporters. “I think of the teams you mentioned, I think we’re definitely better than some of them. Some of them, I think they earned the respect, they’re probably better than us and we gotta show we can beat them.”
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