Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are currently in the midst of what figures to be a highly important offseason as for the future direction of their franchise following a wildly disappointing 2023-24 campaign. The Warriors were not even able to secure a playoff berth this year despite Curry's continued brilliance, ultimately falling to the Sacramento Kings in blowout fashion in the first play-in game and opening the door for this consequential offseason.
One player who hung a significant cloud over the Warriors' chances this year was none other than future Hall of Fame power forward Draymond Green, who was suspended at multiple junctures of this season for his inability to control his emotions.
Recently, FS1 sports media personality Skip Bayless went on a rant against Green's continued antics, which have somehow only increased as he's gotten older and (not) wiser.
“Here's the astonishing truth about Draymond Green,” said Bayless, per The Skip Bayless Show (via ClutchPoints on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter). “In my career, I have never seen anything like this phenomenon. Draymond Green is, no exaggeration, the dirtiest player in NBA history by far… I dare you, right here right now… to go on YouTube, call up and watch those lowlight tapes of the cavalcade of Draymond Green's dirtiest plays over the years… Draymond is the all-time cheap shot artist. Yet, everybody loves Draymond… Somehow, his perception is his reality. We've seen that happen before. The perception of Draymond is he's such a nice guy. He's so fun. He's funny… He's just so entertaining, that Draymond. No, the truth is Draymond Green is just a great actor. At his core, deepest down, he's always been a dirty basketball player with one or maybe two screws loose.”
Bayless went on to reference the fact that since he entered the league, Green has been ejected twenty times, which is more than any other player in that span.
Is Draymond worth the headache?
There was a time when Draymond Green was worth the price of his antics, which even included potentially losing the team the 2016 NBA Finals by getting suspended for Game 5 (although it's likely the Cleveland Cavaliers would have won either way). After all, Green is, ironically enough, one of the smartest basketball minds the game has ever seen and played an integral role in the four championships the Warriors have won over his tenure (well, not so much the last one, but still).
However, Green is severely diminished as an athlete and remains a poor jump shooter, calling into question whether the net value he brings to the Warriors is even positive anymore considering the immense turmoil he also can consistently be relied on to bring every year.
Still, as Bayless mentioned, Green has somehow maintained a reputation as a “nice” guy over the years due to his infectious personality, even though his actions oftentimes directly contradict that.
In any case, the Warriors could look a lot different when next season gets underway.
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