Basketballers do their talking on the court while Stephen A. Smith does his with a camera and a monologue. ESPN’s $100 million man is using his daily coverage, reach, and appeal once again to target another top NBA superstar. This time, Draymond Green drew the short straw.
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The Golden State Warriors lost a tough game to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, succumbing 96-106. While Draymond wasn’t the sole reason for the loss, he only had 2 points and did pick up a flagrant foul and a technical foul on two separate plays.
In their post-match analysis, Smith and the ESPN crew spoke about the four-time NBA champion’s issues with obeying the rules. Smith expressed doubts about whether Dray can be trusted for this upcoming postseason.
“I say yes but with trepidation,” admitted Smith about trusting Draymond. And, like most of his deep dives, Smith used Green’s own actions against him to make a larger point.
SAS then reminded everyone about Green getting ejected from Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, a series the Dubs would go on to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The analyst also believes that Green’s suspension at the end of last season cost the Warriors a playoff spot.
“Those are two occasions when you are looking at the Golden State Warriors and their postseason aspirations were derailed because of you,” Smith stated. “That can’t happen again.”
It also doesn’t help that Green remains the most controversial and polarizing figure in the Warriors’ squad and arguably, the entire NBA. Green’s former teammate at the Warriors, Marreese Speights, had spoken on similar lines to SAS nine years ago while talking about the 2016 finals.
“Draymond f***ed up practice and s***. Draymond’s a good guy, but at the end of the day, it hurts the whole chemistry of the year,” Speights had said.
There is also a predominant belief that Green’s fallouts with the likes of Kevin Durant and Jordan Poole denied the Warriors more glory. His volatile temperament and tough-love mentality toward his teammates might not work in the modern era.
It could be said that the Warriors’ loyalty towards Green is a double-edged sword, and he is surviving solely on his talent at the moment. That said, Green and Jimmy Butler seem to have forged a great relationship on the court. Steph Curry has got some much-needed support because of that.
SAS did give Dray his props, though, naming him as his DPOY candidate. It’s because of his fantastic play that Smith believes Green is more important than ever. “You compromise your position, you compromise the Golden State Warriors.”
This assessment from Smith comes days after Draymond said he was “baffled” by SAS claiming he would have swung on LeBron following their incident in early March.
Green didn’t hold back on the famed analyst
Green has used his podcast as a platform to address controversies in the league. And for the month of March, there was nothing bigger than SAS vs. LBJ. That said, Green did think SAS deserved to have some “hands put on him” for the way he ran his mouth against LeGOAT.
“When you talk like that where I’m from, you get hands put on you. Trying to use my basketball career and things that have happened on the basketball court to try to use it against me for my next career. I saw him doing that,” said Green.
“What I’m saying like yo you’ve had moments before you need to not say nothing about hands but then you know you start talking about swinging on someone,” he added.
Is Smith’s analysis of Green just convenient timing, or was he purposefully calling out the player who just took sides with his enemy? Smith has proven that he holds a grudge, but his analysis on Draymond being an essential part of the Warriors’ playoff aspirations is not wrong.
What’s also not wrong is how quickly Draymond Green can turn. He is a DPOY candidate — and has been for most of his career. But he’s also the player who talked trash about Karl-Anthony Towns missing a game for a funeral, then doubled down on it days later.
Here’s to hoping that the NBA playoffs are more about the ball than it is about drama.
