Fans weren’t having any of what Draymond Green had to say during his first media appearance after returning to the Golden State Warriors fold following his altercation with teammate Jordan Poole.
Green took some time off from the team and returned ahead of the team’s final preseason game and their prep for their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Opening Night (October 18). While he wasn’t suspended, the forward was reportedly fined for his locker room dust-up.
One of the questions that Green was asked was about his future with the Warriors, but the fans weren’t pleased with his two cents. While the veteran stressed that it was all about winning another championship and that he hadn’t thought much about the contract extension, the team’s fans were critical of Green’s comments.
“Thought you was Steph, they don’t love you like that.”
“He and his backpack is gone.”
“It’s obvious LeBron’s been in his ear, this is how he can dismantle the Dubs.”
“I interpret this as him pushing for an extension. “Give me 60M/3 or I’ll force you to pay me 27M next season.” Something like that.”
“the reason why drays good is cause he’s good at making good defensive decisions and organizing. his 1 v1 lockdown ability is kinda gone because he’s slow now. His strength during his prime was that he could defend against guards. He is now mediocre at it. He’s going to be on the bench in 2 years time.”
“Why are the Warriors putting him in front of a microphone? Just have him go away for a bit and let people forget what he did. Let the next news cycle start and be done with it.”
“Before bringing up Lebron he makes a not so veiled threat about what might happen if he doesn’t get an extension. I don’t think he makes it to the end of the season.”
“Dray Is playing for his last contract though. He needs a healthy dpoy level year if he wants a decent bag. If he slacks off or he will take his po and his next contract will be a vet min”
“I’m sure the Warriors have the option of terminating his deal if he physically assaults members of the organization. I bet there’s some applicable language there.”
“Well I don’t know what to call this. He punches people and then acts passive aggressively when the contract doesn’t materialize immediately. Does he expect to be gifted a contract immediately after he punched the guy?”
For Green, the future is uncertain. While he does have the chance of picking up on his player option for another season, there are also outside chances that he may perhaps end up signing a solid maximum deal or even making this season his last one for Golden State. Much of the aforementioned has to do with how the Warriors fare this time around.
It’s All About Winning For Draymond Green As The Warriors Look To Put The Controversy Behind
While much has been said and written about the altercation between Green and Poole, the 32-year-old has maintained the stance that the Warriors have been looking at business as usual and defending their title.
He even added that talks about the contract extensions would take a backseat and that he wasn’t necessarily thinking about next year. The veteran even roped in LeBron James and Stephen Curry as examples of how they figure out deals. Per a Yahoo report:
“If you’re going to let a contract situation linger, then you better be damn sure that you’re willing to handle all the effects of a contract lingering, that it can have on a team. Everybody don’t do that. We’ve seen LeBron James have contract situations, we’ve seen Stephen Curry have contract situations. They handle it the way it’s supposed to be handled. Can’t say that for everyone.”
He even added that he and Poole would-be professionals, and that’s how they would approach the season, irrespective of all that transpired over the last few days. Green has some work to do, and that’s more than just being a dominant force. In addition to earning the faith of his teammates back, he’ll have to win back his fans as well.
