Draymond Green addresses Kings preseason slander ahead of playoff series
Draymond addresses preseason Kings slander ahead of playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Draymond Green torched the Kings back in October.
Appearing on “The Shop,” a talk show featuring Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, Green ranted about the difficulty to “get up” for regular-season games against bad teams, a list that included the Kings.
Six months later, the Kings clinched the Western Conference’s No. 3 playoff seed and will host Green’s Warriors on Saturday in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series at Golden 1 Center.
Green addressed those previous comments about the Kings ahead of the postseason battle in Northern California.
“You know me, I’ll always stand on everything I say,” Green said on the “This League” podcast to host Chris Haynes. “The Kings have sucked. Since I’ve been in the NBA, they have sucked. Have not made the playoffs since I’ve been in the NBA.
“So, it’s not like some bulletin-board disrespect. It’s actually a fact. They are who [the Warriors] were when I came into the NBA. They’re changing it.”
The Kings snapped a 17-year playoff drought by winning 48 games this season. When Green entered the league in 2012 as a second-round pick out of Michigan State, the Warriors had just one playoff appearance in their last 18 seasons.
“I also said on that episode now that the Kings have [coach] Mike Brown, I expect them to change,” Green said. “I also had De’Aaron Fox on my podcast and told Fox, ‘Fox, this is on you. For the Kings to get to the playoffs, it’s on you my brother.
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“[The Kings] traded Tyrese Haliburton. They essentially said, ‘De’Aaron Fox is our point guard. Fox, you need to go out there, you need to lead this team to the playoffs. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be an All-Star.’ "
Fox was named to his first career All-Star Game in February. He averaged 25.0 points and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and snapped the long postseason drought.
"I give credit where credit is due," Green said. "What Mike Brown has gone to Sacramento and done is absolutely amazing. I expect him to continue taking that franchise upward in the right direction. I give them their props. They’re doing a great job."
