To say that it’s been a tough season for Draymond Green would be a bit of an understatement. The four-time NBA champion has been suspended three times, including an indefinite suspension over repeated altercations.
Needless to say, that has taken a toll in his already complicated reputation. The Golden State Warriors are struggling to stay afloat, and he’s been singled out as one of the responsibles for their debacle.
On top of that, Team USA announced that he wouldn’t be a part of the players pool for the upcoming Olympics, claiming that they don’t want to pose a distraction in the summer while he continues to work on getting through whatever he’s going through right now.
Draymond Green Takes A Shot At Grant Hill
Notably, he didn’t seem to like the way USA Basketball handled the news. In the latest edition of his podcast, he called out Grant Hill for not letting him know before it hit the news:
Draymond Green with the Warriors
“I’m a big fan of Grant Hill, and to know there’s been a personal relationship and to tell me to my face that you’re going to need me for the Olympics and then to publicly find out that,” Green said. “If I’m not good enough for that roster, just say I’m not good enough.”
On top of that, Green isn’t buying that excuse. Recently, he claimed that he just feels like he’s not as good as some of the NBA stars in the pool right now, so there was no need to sugar-coat anything:
“I would like to believe that there’s some guys in that pool that I’m just not as good as,” Green told the media. “Didn’t quite think it would be so many great players in the pool because it just hasn’t been [that way] over the last couple of Olympic cycles. Then you look up, and all of a sudden the ‘who’s who’ is there. I’m no idiot. You go with the who’s who and you figure it out.”
He Has No Hard Feelings
Even so, Green has been there and done that already. He knows it’s a blessing to be a part of the Olympics, and he’ll just live with whatever decision USA Basketball needed to make:
Draymond Green
“Would it have been nice to play in a third Olympics? Absolutely,” said Green. “But I’m also not going to sit here and act like if all those same guys that’s on the list was on the list in 2016 that I would ever have the first opportunity. When it works in your favor, you take what comes with it, which is the good. Then when it don’t quite work in your favor you have to take the bad that comes with it as well. It is what it is.”
Still, he’ll continue to root for his nation and his colleagues. He knows it’s all bigger than im, and there’s no reason to have any ill towards Team USA after all they’ve been through:
“No hard feelings my way,” Green said. “I’ll be rooting like hell for those guys because I am a part of the brotherhood. Regardless if I play in this Olympics or not, I’m still a part of that brotherhood and I’ll be rooting for them.”
see also
NBA Rumors: Stephen Curry is reportedly frustrated with Draymond Green, Warriors
At the end of the day, this is just a part of a cycle. He paid his dues and had his reward, and he’s objectively not one of the best American players in the NBA right now.
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