Draymond Green still can't avoid criticism over a month removed from Warriors season
Draymond Green has created headlines on more than once occasion in the last nine months, having been suspended for two seperate incidents in the first 23 games of the Golden State Warriors season.
The 34-year-old has drawn a spate of criticism over a hall-of-fame but often controversial playing career, and it appears a similar level of disapproval is now pouring over to Green's time in the media.
Many have been left disappointed by the presence of Golden State Warriors' forward Draymond Green on Inside the NBA this postseason
With over a month since the Warriors were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament, Green is now part of TNT's Inside the NBA coverage of the playoffs. The veteran forward would have enjoyed what he saw on Friday when Luka Doncic delivered a dagger three-pointer over Green's long-time rival Rudy Gobert in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Green has been heckled with chants of "Draymond sucks" from Minnesota fans over the first two games, and responded with another jab towards Gobert during the post-game segment where they were interviewing Doncic.
It's not the first time Green has gone in on Gobert during the playoffs, something many are getting tired of including former NBA forward and current Phoenix Suns' announcer Eddie Johnson who went off on the four-time All-Star on social media.
You cannot let your jealousy of a man who has 4 DPOY to your 1, cloud your professionalism on national TV as an employed analyst ! A current player ripping another for personal reasons who is in a conference final and you are hired to talk about the game is wrong! https://t.co/pMHesWkxRw
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) May 25, 2024
I love TNT and the Inside the NBA crew, but they need to get Draymond Green off coverage.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) May 25, 2024
His hate of Rudy Gobert just makes for awful television. It isn’t funny, original or informative. He literally just yelled “Rudy sucks” at fans on live TV.
They gotta get Draymond off the air at this point. Dude is a disaster https://t.co/VGkdAIZrrj
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) May 25, 2024
Green evidently has a vendetta against Gobert, though that may stem from a professional basis rather than a personal one. Johnson is probably right -- there's likely a sense of jealousy that Gobert has four Defensive Player of the Year titles to Green's one, but the outspoken Warrior is far from the only one to think that fact is a stain on NBA history.
The rivalry spilled over in November as Green's initial five-game suspension stemmed from placing Gobert in a headlock and dragging him after the Frenchman put his hands on Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson.
It seems Green's ability to garner publicity, often of the negative variety, will expand far beyond his playing career with the Warriors and into a developing media career that's now grabbing national attention.
manual