Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has called out the NBA’s treatment of its players, while citing various examples of double standards around the league.
The Warriors star was bothered that a team can state publicly plans to trade a player without penalty while players are fined if they demand to be traded.
Green’s unprompted, three-minute tirade came on the heels of the Cleveland Cavaliers — Golden State’s opponent on Monday — deciding to sit center Andre Drummond until they find a trade to make.
Addressing reporters after a 129-98 win over the Cavaliers at Chase Center, Green cited James Harden, who was criticized for his exit from the Houston Rockets, while discussing the situation unfolding in Cleveland.
“I would like to talk about something that’s really bothering me,” Green said after the Warriors’ 129-98 win. “And it’s the treatment of players in this league. To watch Andre Drummond, before the game, sit on the sidelines, then go to the back, and to come out in street clothes because a team is going to trade him, it’s bulls—.”
“Everyone wants to say, ‘that young man can’t figure it out.’ But no one wants to say the organization can’t figure it out.”
Draymond Green sounds off on a double standard he sees in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/z6R4zq0Bcw
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 16, 2021
Green continued, “Because when James Harden asked for a trade, and essentially dogged it, no one’s going to fight back that James was dogging it his last days in Houston, but he was castrated for wanting to go to a different team. Everybody destroyed that man. And yet a team can come out and say, ‘Oh, we want to trade a guy,’ and then that guy has to go sit, and if he doesn’t stay professional, then he’s a cancer. And he’s not good in someone’s locker room, and he’s the issue.”
Drummond, who was in street clothes at Chase Center sitting on the Cavs bench throughout most of Monday’s contest, caught up with Green for a few moments prior to tipoff. While it’s unclear what the pair discussed, Green’s message was pointed as he stepped to the podium after the game.
“And we’re seeing situations of Harrison Barnes getting pulled off the bench,” Green said. “Or DeMarcus Cousins finding out he’s traded in an interview after the All-Star Game, and we continue to let this happen. But I got fined for stating my opinion on what I thought should happen with another player, but teams can come out and continue to say, ‘Oh, we’re trading guys, we’re not playing you.’ And yet we’re to stay professional.”
Green, who has long been an outspoken critic when it comes to issues he feels strongly about, was fined $50,000 for comments made during his time as a guest analyst for Turner Sports during the NBA restart in Orlando, Florida, last season, when he expressed his feelings that Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker should leave the organization.
