Our Golden State Warriors franchise cornerstone Draymond Green has come up on social media again, namely the so-called community of #WarriorsTwitter. Recently, it was people finding one of his “likes” on Twitter of an anti-Ayesha Curry tweet. I’m not going to amplify that as some purported Warriors “fans” did (I put fans in quotes because why would you troll that if you as a GSW fan want success and harmony for the team?).
So if you don’t know about that one, just ask someone in the comments below.
Or get more details on my Patreon post, where I talked to two sources in Draymond’s camp — subscriptions there are as little as $1 per month, and if you’re already a subscriber here and don’t want to subscribe again on another platform whether out of convenience or you really can’t afford it, DM me or comment below and I’ll forward you my article.
Bottom line: Green meant no harm and, really, hasn’t everyone accidentally “liked” something on Twitter at some point?
Before that, it was him not defending Stephen Curry when Maverick Carter said Curry couldn’t play any “f—ing” defense. IMO, what happened there can be explained as follows: Green (a) was a little tipsy from the wine they were drinking that night, (b) was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic about discussing The Last Dance, which premiered right before the video podcast, to change the subject matter away from Mav’s train of thought, and (c) relies heavily on Klutch for his off-the-court media endeavors, so wasn’t going to go out of his way to turn the conversation adversarial on his de facto boss.
By the way, these are just crude bullet points with which I went into more detail on Instagram and will perhaps go further into it, again with quotes from sources, on my Patreon at some point — a lot of negative energy on that one, so not sure I want to expend resources to go down that path; we’ll see.
Sure, it’s all laughs, all this talk about trading Draymond for his failure to shield Curry from Mav’s ridicule and then the “like” of the anti-Ayesha tweet.
But how many times have we seen Twitterers take it too far and it suddenly turned into something they were serious about? [lol smh]
Honestly, those dominoes tend to fall a lot on Twitter and Instagram, if you’ve paid attention. For example, someone on Twitter said Draymond now has two strikes 🙄 meaning one more social media snafu, the guy will pretend he’s Bob Myers and pretend-trade Green — and don’t get me started on all that Giannis Antetokuonmpo bullshit, which we’ve already shot down for the most part.
I get it, though. For some people, the he-said-she-said bit is their hunger for content or, for the “Warriors account” troublemakers, it’s their claim-to-fame: they want trivial things like this to blow up.
Clicks and clout. Forget actual knowledge.
So anyways on Monday, June 22, 2020, Green was the center of social media attention yet again when he posted an Instagram story as I described on YouTube:
In June 2020, the Golden State Warriors’ social media team in conjunction with the local cable station decided to re-broadcast select games from the franchise’s history-making 73-win run in 2016. On June 22, 2020, before win No. 31 was to be aired, Draymond Green took to Instagram Stories and reposted the Warriors’ promotional Instagram post in which he scored 29 points and also had 17 rebounds and 14 assists for a triple-double against the Denver Nuggets at home at Oracle Arena on that night, January 2, 2016.
“Damn! Yeah I’m going to go back to being that guy 😏😏😏 Since they all seem to have forgotten 🤷🏿♂️,” Green wrote, in defiance of reporters, fans and pundits who have largely mocked his 8-6-6 average from an injury-riddled 2019-20 season for the GSW.
The funny thing is, on that night back in 2016, Green said his shot “felt awful”, all the way from morning shootaround through pregame routines. He also said then-interim head coach Luke Walton, who had temporarily replaced Steve Kerr due to a spinal fluid issue, drew up a play for Green and said he wouldn’t make that shot, knowing that the overt display of doubt would fuel Green’s focus on proving him wrong.
So the solution for 2020-21 is for Green to have his shot feel awful, as well as hire Walton back, right? (Walton is currently the head coach of the struggling Sacramento Kings.)
Now as the literal “Poor Man’s Commish”, I often draw from my experiences commissioning, coaching and playing in rec leagues to keep me grounded. I can totally envision a scenario where all my championship buddies got injured one season and we had to pickup a bunch of teenage kids from my cousin’s local AAU team just to keep playing. Only thing is, they have zero clue how to win games in this men’s league. Let’s face it, I’m gonna half-ass it through 90% of the season, the kids don’t know when to shoot and when to pass, it’s just human nature for me going through the motions with them, and it’s hard to be inspired when we’re already down double-digits by the end of Q1 each game.
But such a nightmare season doesn’t mean that suddenly my talent, skills and experience disappear when my buddies come back next season. And don’t forget that great chemistry we had together.
Plus I’m not gonna risk my body just so you’ll shut up about “triple-singles”. I don’t play to arm fans with weapons for their social media battles with Warriors haters, even though you yourself morph into that hater when you start to voice your doubts about me.
Seriously, I think some “Warriors fans” on social media get mad at Draymond because against haters, they can’t defend their loyalty to GSW with Green’s paltry 8-6-6 season average. So they pout and blame him and, lo and behold, end up being another hater. Funny how twisted social media can get.
So back to the baller metaphor in the rec league, I’ll go ahead and accept the blemish on my Basketball Reference page even though I’m going to the Hall of Fame based on my rings, Finals performances, DPOY assignments in seven-game series, and not my career averages.
And yet I know in next year’s playoffs I’m going to put up a 29-17-14 here and there when it matters. I’m not fresh out of college anymore. I have kids, a wife and a family; I don’t have boundless amounts of energy anymore, but I will lay it on the line when it is worth doing so.
So here’s my question to you: Are you really that worried Draymond won’t deliver another spate of epic performances, especially in the playoffs? If so, what specifically lost your faith? Or are you pulling a reverse-psychologist-Walton on him? (You’re not that clever, though!)
Hopefully it’s just the vocal minority on social media, or at least the dudes on there trying to point out a controversy before the next guy does.
It seems to me that social media has become an environment of doubt instead of support for teams and the players whom fans are supposed to be rooting for.
I don’t worry about Draymond on the court. While his athleticism is mentioned frequently, what really drives his excellence is his smarts. Much like Andre, the guy has a sixth sense about where everyone is going to be in three seconds. He knows how to use his body and will be fine when it counts. His passing will convert into assists when he has more teammates who can hit a shot. And his shot will improve when defenders don’t believe he is his own first option.
I’d be lying if I denied that he makes me cringe at times. Much like I used to want to tape Steven Jackson’s mouth, I often think it’d be a good idea to find a spot for Mary Babers on the bench. That said, Curry, Thompson and Kerr seem to have thick skin and don’t offend easily. I do believe he can light a fire when teammates are sleepwalking. And he is by far my favorite player in front of a mic.
Regarding trade talks, that is blasphemy. 😳 It is more more important to me that Curry, Thompson, Green and Kerr show the world their brand of small ball does not require a Durant to win It all. I don’t want another MVP to join the crew. I want our current stars to be surrounded by decent complimentary players who are generally plus defenders. I love the Wiggins acquisition because the NBA world had written him off.
I’m looking forward to someday watching Draymond regularly sitting across the table from Barkley. It will be so much better if the Warriors win at least one more championship with Draymond as our crunch time center.
What Dray needs is to work with a shooting coach, something he should have already been doing. He needs it, desperately with his fading athleticism limiting his ability to finish inside. Our team needs it with our lack of shooting on the outside.