Marreese Speights Denies Saying Draymond Green Berated Teammates
Alec
NathanOct 19, 2016
Draymond Greenhas been one of theNBA's more fiery presences over the past few seasons, and his antics throughout theGolden State Warriors' record-setting 2015-16 campaign may have rubbed some teammates the wrong way.
According to ESPN The Magazine'sEthan Sherwood Strauss, former Warriors center Marreese Speights said Green's propensity to berate teammates affected how the team functioned.
Strauss wrote:
'Draymond f---ked up practice and s--t,' then-Warriors center Speights said. 'Draymond's a good guy, but I think at the end of the day, it hurt the whole chemistry of the year.' One player in particular, he says, took much of the heat: 'Draymond and Klay [Thompson] got into it a lot.' (Thompson declined to comment for this story.)"
However, Speights denied making the comments:
Green's tendency to lash out verbally and physically was under a microscope throughout the 2015-16 season, and it came to the forefront when ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters relayed news of an outburst during the team's Feb. 27 overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Strauss noted the contents of the verbal altercation, which included a back-and-forth between Green and head coach Steve Kerr: "Inside the visitors locker room, he's hollering 'I am not a robot!' at Kerr. When Kerr tells him to sit down, Green screams,'Motherf--ker, come sit me down!' When he goes after Kerr, his teammates, including [Stephen] Curry and Thompson, step in to stave off disaster."
Citing sources, Strauss reported Green's teammates later voted to fine him.
On the court, his flailing—whether intentional or not—came with repercussions.
The Warriors forward was retroactively assessed a flagrant-2 foul for kicking Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the groin during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, and a similar event in Game 4 of the NBA Finals interrupted the Warriors' momentum.
Alec
NathanOct 19, 2016
Draymond Greenhas been one of theNBA's more fiery presences over the past few seasons, and his antics throughout theGolden State Warriors' record-setting 2015-16 campaign may have rubbed some teammates the wrong way.
According to ESPN The Magazine'sEthan Sherwood Strauss, former Warriors center Marreese Speights said Green's propensity to berate teammates affected how the team functioned.
Strauss wrote:
'Draymond f---ked up practice and s--t,' then-Warriors center Speights said. 'Draymond's a good guy, but I think at the end of the day, it hurt the whole chemistry of the year.' One player in particular, he says, took much of the heat: 'Draymond and Klay [Thompson] got into it a lot.' (Thompson declined to comment for this story.)"
However, Speights denied making the comments:
Green's tendency to lash out verbally and physically was under a microscope throughout the 2015-16 season, and it came to the forefront when ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters relayed news of an outburst during the team's Feb. 27 overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Strauss noted the contents of the verbal altercation, which included a back-and-forth between Green and head coach Steve Kerr: "Inside the visitors locker room, he's hollering 'I am not a robot!' at Kerr. When Kerr tells him to sit down, Green screams,'Motherf--ker, come sit me down!' When he goes after Kerr, his teammates, including [Stephen] Curry and Thompson, step in to stave off disaster."
Citing sources, Strauss reported Green's teammates later voted to fine him.
On the court, his flailing—whether intentional or not—came with repercussions.
The Warriors forward was retroactively assessed a flagrant-2 foul for kicking Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the groin during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, and a similar event in Game 4 of the NBA Finals interrupted the Warriors' momentum.
