Earlier this week, Karl-Anthony Towns made headlines for some comments he made about Russell Westbrook. In the clip, he spoke very highly of the star, lauding his ability to drop triple-doubles on a regular basis.
He also casually called Russell Westbrook a stat-chaser, a term that caused a bit of an uproar around the community.
Among the many to respond was Draymond Green, who issued a scathing remark about how Towns was throwing one of his own under the bus.
“I once watched from the bench due to us beating the Twolves a** and he was in the game down 20 with 2 mins to go. Come on man. Stop talking to people about the “bros” and yelling this is a “brotherhood.””
Not long after the comment was made, Towns went live again to defend himself.
(via Twitch.tv/Karltowns)
“I didn’t know I was the coach. I was the coach? I was told to be in the game with two minutes left down by 20 and I’m the coach? Am I the coach?” the Timberwolves star exclaimed. “Oh sh*t I’m Bill Russell. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Bill Russell. I forgot I was Bill Russell, too.”
“But hey listen, hell of a team. I ain’t here to do none of all that disrespectful sh*t and all that stuff. Nah, I ain’t here to do all that. I get flowers.”
Towns does have a point about not controlling his playing time. At the end of the day, it’s the coach who decides who’s in the game and who is on the bench.
Regarding Westbrook, Towns was actually being supportive of the guy and all that he brings to the table. But stat-chasing is widely understood as a negative term by fans, as it indicates that a player prioritizes individual stats over team success.
Whatever the case, it is clearly causing some turmoil in the NBA community. So far, Towns has stood his ground.
