On Friday, the Golden State Warriors cruised to a 97-84 win over the Charlotte Hornets to record their third straight win. However, their performance was overshadowed by a skirmish between the two teams at the end of the game. With 20 seconds left, Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski had possession of the ball as his team led by 11. The Hornets players expected the guard to dribble the ball until the shot clock expired, but he threw a pass to Lester Quinones, who surprisingly attempted a shot.
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Hornets’ Miles Bridges took exception to Quinones’ shot and nudged him with his elbow, prompting the Warriors guard to respond with a push. A couple of players rushed to the scene to diffuse the situation, but Hornets’ Grant Williams butted heads with Quinones, and the two got into a scuffle. The Warriors guard kept yelling, “You a b***h!” at the veteran’s face. Bridges questioned Quinones’ attempt to score after the game was practically over. He replied,
“What do you mean? It’s basketball, b***h. It’s basketball, p***y”
While Quinones was being tamed by his teammates, Williams continued to yell at the Warriors’ players, which irked Draymond Green, who told the veteran,
“P***y a*s n***a! F**k you! You a p***y! F**k outta here!”
Bridges was upset at Quinones for trying to score when players on both teams had already downed their tools and were waiting for the buzzer. He saw it as an attempt to run up the score, which isn’t illegal but frowned upon in the NBA.
Williams, the VP of the NBA Players’ Association, should have de-escalated the situation rather than pick a fight with a young player. The skirmish not only took the sheen off the hard-fought game but will also lighten the pockets of those involved with fines from the NBA forthcoming.
Draymond Green roasts Grant Williams for scuffle
Draymond Green was in no mood to let the situation simmer down in the aftermath of the fight. In the post-game press conference, the Warriors forward called out Grant Williams, saying,
“Grant Williams gotta stop it, man. This tough guy (act) is going absolutely wrong for him. He’s a really nice guy…He needs to figure it out because, oh boy, talking too much is kind of what got you out of Dallas [Mavericks]. Overdoing it…Pray for Grant Williams.”
Williams was surprisingly traded to the Hornets on deadline day, ending his stint with the Mavericks after only eight months. Per ESPN’s Tim McMahon, the veteran guard wasn’t well-liked in Dallas’ locker room. On an episode of Brian Windhost and the Hoop Collective, he said,
“I would say one of the ways that Grant Williams rubbed people the wrong way, the yap, yap, yapping, obviously, that’s kind of part of it with him. Which is charmingly obnoxious if he’s productive, and it’s grating when he’s not, but he didn’t report in good shape, and Grant Williams not in good shape is not a good defender.”
Green undoubtedly read this report and used it to throw shade at Williams after their argument on the court. The Hornets guard hasn’t responded, but he could use the Warriors’ forward’s recent suspension to have a dig and continue the war of words. It remains to be seen if he responds.
