Metta Sandiford-Artest, previously known as Metta World Peace, Ron Artest, and The Pandas Friend — bet you forgot about that one — had his share of on-court anger issues during his . Whether it was nearly coming to blows with Kobe Bryant before they were Lakers teammates, elbowing James Harden in the head for seemingly no good reason, getting into a shoving match with Pat Riley, or of course, his involvement in the Malice at the Palace, controversy followed Metta World Peace wherever he went. The same can be said of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Draymond Green's NBA resume far exceeds that of Metta World Peace, and yet, because of how many violent on-court incidences he's been at the center of and because he's been mostly unapologetic about each of them, my fear is when his career eventually comes to an end, he'll be remembered the same way World Peace is… mostly for the outbursts, and less for his output.
On a recent episode of the All Facts No Breaks podcast with Keyshawn Johnson, World Peace weighed in on his spiritual successor, and took a stab at why Draymond continues to make noise for all of the wrong reasons, and it has to do with a battle with father time.
“He’s just got to you know let father time take his course,” says World Peace. “You know Draymond's a winner man first and foremost. I think towards the end of his career, I think what happened was he's not able to do what he’s used to. You know you're getting older so I think he’s just got to get comfortable with you're not going to be able to dominate no matter what you do. The young players are here, and I think he was uncomfortable with that, but I think once he gets comfortable like, yeah you're on your way out, you know I think he'll be straight.”
Metta World Peace isn't the first person to weigh in on Draymond Green's antics, and he won't be the last. On a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Rich Paul shared that after Draymond Green's most recent suspension earlier in the 2023-24 season, he challenged his client to, “be a champion of change,” and Draymond was apparently up for the challenge, telling Paul, “I got you.”
Whether that is how things play out remains to be seen. But the Warriors have issues beyond about Warriors forward Draymond Green for the time being.
Where the Warriors and Draymond Green go from here
Draymond Green is under contract with the Golden State Warriors through the 2026-27 season, and Stephen Curry will be a Warrior for life. But that's only two-thirds of the trio that has brought four Larry O'Brien Trophies to the Bay Area. The third member of that trio, Klay Thompson, is a free agent this summer, and it appears that Klay returning to Golden State for his 12th season with the Warriors is not nearly the formality that some would've thought it would be just a couple of years ago.
The Warriors — head coach Steve Kerr in particular — want Klay Thompson back, but it's not always so easy. If the Warriors aren't willing to pay Klay Thompson what a team like, say the Orlando Magic or Dallas Mavericks would be able or willing to, the Splash Brothers could be splitting in just a few days. But if Klay Thompson wants out, it could mean that Paul George is on his way.
No matter what happens, you can expect two things: A) Stephen Curry will remain at the center of everything the Warriors do, and he'll continue to be among the best players in the NBA, and B) Draymond Green will be involved in some way as well, and he'll likely be podding about it.
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