Warriors forward Draymond Green stirs the pot in growing beef with opposing coach

As someone who's never been afraid to speak his mind, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green knows a thing or two about rivalries and beefs in the NBA.

Green has had quite a few over his decorated playing career, but this latest one is unusual even for him with the veteran going after Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Warriors forward Draymond Green has responded fiercely to Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins

Jenkins had taken exception to Green's foul on rookie center Zach Edey during the third-quarter of Golden State's NBA Cup win over Memphis at Chase Center last Friday. Green had tripped Edey up as he looked to run down the floor, resulting in a transition take foul but leaving Jenkins disappointed that it wasn't immediately reviewed for something more.

After Jenkins voiced his displeasure in the post-game press conference, the league did review and upgrade it to a flagrant penalty one foul the following day. Green has now responded in dramatic fashion, taking to his podcast to not only return serve at Jenkins' comments, but seemingly criticize his personality and his coaching ability.

"But you got Taylor Jenkins, oh, who’s a softy, who goes out, and at some point, you’d hope to think we’d beat y’all in the NBA Finals -- not in the Finals, though, because they ain’t getting there. Not with him," Green exclaimed.

Green went on to state that the Warriors beat the Grizzlies in the second-round of the 2022 playoffs because Jenkins was "too emotional." The 4x All-Star also compared the comments to another opposing coach, Joe Mazzulla, with the Boston Celtics lead man having sensationally stated prior to the season that the league should bring back fighting.

Golden State and Memphis have a rivalry of sorts dating back to the 2021 Play-In Tournament, before the Warriors got revenge the following year on their way to the championship. Green had a notable spat with now former Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks in early 2023, with the latter having gone public with his dislike of the Warrior forward and Golden State as a team.

Green responded by calling Brooks an 'idiot', labelling him the reason Memphis weren't ready to win a championship. In fairness Memphis seemingly agreed, letting Brooks walk to the Houston Rockets with no intention of re-signing him in 2023 free agency.

The rivalry may have died down following Brooks' exit, yet perhaps this latest Green-Jenkins feud could reignite things. The Warriors will travel to Memphis to play the Grizzlies on December 19, before another meeting at Chase Center on January 4.