Draymond Green says no one blames the 's----- franchises' when a draft pick busts
Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green has a take about NBA draft busts: It’s not their fault. While showing support for teammate Marquese Chriss, Green suggested teams should get more blame when a highly drafted player becomes a bust.
Green used more colorful language when talking about the issue.
Draymond Green on what went wrong early in Marquese Chriss' career:
"No one ever blames the situation, it's always the kid." pic.twitter.com/jena1PBNRs— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) October 17, 2019
Here’s Green’s full answer when he was asked about Chriss:
“He seems like he’s turning the corner. But I think he’s been in some pretty tough situations. No one ever blames the situation though, it’s always the kid. No one ever blames the s----- franchises. They just always want to blame the kid. It’s not always the kid’s fault.”
Chriss, 22, was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He was selected by the Sacramento Kings, but immediately traded to the Phoenix Suns. Chriss failed to put up strong numbers in Phoenix. He averaged just 8.5 points per game in his two seasons with the team. He split time between the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers last season, and failed to establish himself in either spot.
After three rough years, Chriss signed with the Warriors in the offseason. He’s emerged as a useful contributor in four games this preseason, and could open the regular season with the Warriors.
Green may have been blunt — and taken a massive shot at the Suns — with his assessment. But he’s not wrong. Organizations play a big role in whether players are successful. It often falls on those organizations to develop those players, and find ways to get them to improve and adjust to the NBA. Sure, sometimes players fail because they don’t have the talent, but that’s not always the case. Some players have plenty of talent but fail to reach their potential due to the situation around them.
It remains to be seen where Chriss falls on that scale. While he’s looked better this preseason, it’s still just four games. If Chriss can take those gains into the regular season and become a steady part of the Warriors’ rotation, the Suns are going to look even worse for how they handled Chriss.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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