While a lot of theories have been brought to the front of why the Golden State Warriors came of short of a season for the ages last year, one thing is for certain, Draymond Green‘s antics had something to do with it.
From the amount of technical fouls piling up during the playoffs, to the flagrant foul on Steven Adams during the Western Conference Finals, to ultimately another flagrant foul that ended up costing him Game 5 of the NBA Finals, there were quite a few suspect moments from Green towards the end of last season.
One particular Warrior recalls more than just what the cameras could see affecting the team's chemistry.
“Draymond f***ed up practice and s***,” former Warriors forward Marreese Speights told ESPN's Ethan Sherwood. “Draymond's a good guy, but I think at the end of the day, it hurt the whole chemistry of the year.” According to Speights, one particular player took a lot of the hear from Green: “Draymond and Klay [Thompson] got into it a lot.”
Every team needs a leader that keeps them accountable, but there's a line as to how far criticism goes as they're all professionals and have the common goal of winning the game.
“Guys don't respect you if you yell at them in front of all these fans,” Speights added. “We're not trying to lose the game. F***.”
Thompson can at times be a frustrating player to watch as his attempts to be a playmaker are futile most of the time. He averages 2.1 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game in a team that's been close to 30 assists per game the last two seasons.
The assumption is that Green would constantly get on him to do what he does best and look to score rather than create for others.
Another particular moment that changed the NBA Finals was Green being assessed a technical foul in the last three minutes of Game 4 for swiping at LeBron James' groin after he guided his undercarriage to the back of Green's head.
“If somebody put they balls on your head, what are you supposed to do?,” said Speights.
Green shares a certain characteristic like many fiery defenders like Rick Mahorn and Vernon Maxwell — sometimes their intensity can fly off the handle. The difference lies in the era in which they played, as a lot more was allowed to transpire back then.
The success of the Warriors will lie on Green's ability to transform that energy canister into a positive leadership role and take a hold of his emotions in games and practices.
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