Draymond Green Fires Back As Warriors Debate Around Him Grows

Draymond Green defends his on-court intelligence against Kendrick Perkins' criticism, sparking debate over his role with the Warriors.

Draymond Green didn’t let Kendrick Perkins’ criticism slide.

After ESPN’s Perkins took aim at the Golden State Warriors veteran for his recent ejection against the Phoenix Suns, Green pushed back hard, even as he also addressed Dillon Brooks’ claim that he had tried to de-escalate the confrontation with Khaman Maluach before Green put his hands around Brooks’ neck and got tossed.

Perkins had ripped Green for being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, arguing that the Warriors forward has not been producing enough on the floor. “When’s the last time we discussed Draymond and brought up him as far as his basketball and not fighting?

At some point, he has to deliver on the floor,” Perkins said. “And when you look at the start of this season, Draymond Green's been nonexistent.

He has done absolutely nothing for the Warriors. To me, he has been a liability more than an asset.

And when you look at Steph's face, yes, he’s always going to protect Draymond Green because of their brotherhood.”

Green’s response came with a sharp jab of his own. “I’m not even close to the player I once was,” Green said.

“But Kendrick Perkins, the diffence between myself and big dummies like you is that I can think! When your body wasn’t the same no more or as athletic as you once were, it looked a little different for you because you weren’t the smartest basketball player.”

The Warriors moved on without Green and still handled business. Golden State beat Phoenix 116-113, then kept rolling with a 120-100 win over the Miami Heat to stretch its winning streak to six.

In Other News...

Klay Thompson Just Gave Warriors Fans A First They Never Saw

Klay Thompson keeps finding new ways to add to a career that already had a long list of big moments, and this one came in a uniform Warriors fans never expected to see him wear. Playing for the Miami Heat, Thompson delivered his first career game-winning three-pointer in the final five seconds, lifting Miami to a 117-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and adding another late-game chapter to a rsum that was already packed with clutch shots and playoff memories from Golden State.

For Warriors fans, the odd part is how long they watched Thompson thrive in the biggest moments without ever getting this exact finish. He scored 30 points in the game and helped carry the Heat alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, but the lasting image was the shot at the buzzer-window, the kind of moment that somehow had never happened before for one of the leagues most familiar sharpshooters. [Read more 🡒]

Warriors Rumor Could Reshape Steph Currys Final Title Chase

The Warriors are already being linked to one of the biggest names in the league, and the idea says plenty about how they view the next phase of Stephen Currys run. With injuries again testing the roster and the front office looking for ways to keep the team in the title mix, Golden State is reportedly keeping an eye on Nikola Jokic as a possible target next summer.

It is the kind of speculation that instantly changes the conversation around Currys final championship chase, because a player of Jokics caliber would reshape the ceiling of the roster in a major way. The uncertainty around Jokics long-term future in Denver, including delayed extension talks and the possibility of free agency, is what makes the rumor worth watching, even if the path to getting him is anything but simple. [Read more 🡒]

Warriors Still Have One Big Center Question As Graham Ike Waits

The Warriors are still sorting through their center options, and the picture remains unsettled even as the season moves along. Draymond Green, Al Horford, Charles Bassey and Graham Ike all sit in the mix, giving Golden State a few different looks but no clear long-term answer in the middle. Bassey helped himself with a promising recent showing, which at least gave the staff something tangible to weigh as it keeps evaluating the rotation.

Ike, meanwhile, remains the name to watch because he has not had enough floor time to really establish whether he can be part of the solution. The Warriors would still like to reshape the position before the trade deadline, with the goal of moving Kristaps Porzingis contract and turning that into a more dependable center option. For now, though, the search continues, and the uncertainty at the spot is still one of the more important roster issues hanging over the team. [Read more 🡒]