The Golden State Warriors went through a rough patch recently. Draymond Green, one of the veterans and leaders of the team, was thought to have called out some young players amidst this stretch, but he set the record straight on his podcast.
Many people assumed that Green made comments that were critical of young players Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga when he said that personal agendas seemed to be getting in the way of the overall goal of winning.
Draymond Green sets the record straight on his recent comments
Green spoke on the difference between the solid stretch the team had last season after trading for Jimmy Butler, versus their play during the rough stretch where they lost five of seven games following a 4-1 start.
“I think everybody was committed to winning and doing that any way possible. And right now, it doesn’t feel that way,” Green said.
Green claims that he was not calling out anyone in particular with these remarks, taking to his podcast to explain what his intention was with the comments.
“People saying, ‘Oh man, Draymond is blaming the young guys.’ When in my statement that I made…I said ‘we”‘.. I actually go and blame myself.”
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Green seems to be referencing the comments he made after the team’s rough showing against the Denver Nuggets when they got blown out. Green did accept blame for the team’s poor defensive showing in that game, but in the clip he did not address the comments he made following the team’s embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder which is when people thought he was taking subtle swipes at the young guys.
However, Green is far from the only one to be accused of calling out young players. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that the younger players needed “some fire in the belly” after that tough loss against Denver.
Clearly, the veterans were seeing things from the young guys that they were not thrilled with. Podziemski, Kuminga and Moses Moody have all struggled at times through the team’s tough stretch, and the Warriors know they are going to have to lean on them at times when the veterans are injured or resting on the bench.
Even if Green denies it, he knows that his words carry a lot of weight and are going to be interpreted a certain way when the team is struggling. Perhaps it’s not the worst thing to have a little tough love for the young guys, and demanding more from them may be the way to get the most from them going forward.
