ESPN analyst Jay Williams partially blames Warriors captain Steph Curry for Draymond Green's latest ejection. Green was tossed four minutes into Golden State's game against the Orlando Magic Tuesday night, and Williams thinks that it's a product of Curry's lack of leadership, via First Take.
“Internally, it feels like he can't make reads on himself,” Williams said. “Draymond Green is diminishing the ultimate legacy of how people are looking at the leadership of Stephen Curry.”
This begs the question, how is Curry at all responsible for Green's behavior?
The context of Draymond Green's ejection
Jay Williams says 'high-level' people in the NBA have been texting him and questioning Steph Curry's leadership for not being able to control Draymond Green
(h/t @awfulannouncing )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 28, 2024
Green was ejected for the fourth time this season after receiving a double-technical from arguing with referees. Curry was visibly shaken up afterwards, looking to be on the verge of tears. He understand how important Green is to Golden State's success, via Cydney Henderson of USA Today.
“All I'll say is we need him. He knows that. We all know that” Curry said. “Whatever it takes to keep him on the floor — him be available — that's what's got to happen, especially at this point in the year.”
It's understandable that Curry was so frustrated, as the Warriors are fighting for survival in a competitive Western Conference. Golden State currently sits in 10th place, one game ahead of the Houston Rockets. If the Dubs get leap-frogged by Houston, they won't qualify for the Play-In Tournament. The team simply can't afford to be without its core players as the stretch run continues.
With Curry being the team's leader, Williams claims that “high-level” NBA people are criticizing him for not being able to “control” Green. To be fair, Williams may simply be reciting what he's heard. However, to frame it this way on national television is unfair to the prolific shooter on many levels.
Is Steph Curry truly at fault?
First of all, Green has a long history of being ejected and suspended. He's now been thrown out 19 times in his career, the second-most for any player over the last 25 years, via ESPN. The four-time champion is known for having a short fuse. Curry can try as hard as he wants to calm him down, but at some point, the responsibility falls on Green to change his ways.
Williams acknowledged as much on the First Take segment. However, the fact that he even bothered to bring up these “texts” is a headline-grabbing move. In today's media era, engagement is king. Negativity sells, and Curry is one of the faces of the league. Instead of simply stating that Green needs to conduct himself better, it grabs more headlines to find a way to criticize Curry as well.
Williams also has a track record of questionable takes. Recently, he suggested that the NCAA Tournament should have 112 teams, saying “let everybody get in.” This would essentially make the regular season irrelevant, as many high-major programs would not have to try very hard to qualify for March Madness.
The former Chicago Bull also claimed that Iowa's Caitlin Clark is not “great” quite yet, despite breaking the NCAA scoring record this season, saying that she needs to win a championship first. However, Williams should realize that basketball is a team sport, and there are many other factors outside of Clark that have kept her from cutting down the nets.
In short, while Williams may have a respectable basketball pedigree, its important to take these types of statements as a grain of salt. It's often more dramatic and interesting to jump out of the window with a purposefully questionable opinion than to consistently provide completely logical statements.
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