Greetings my peeps and welcome to the All Things Basketball Podcast with your boy GD.
In this special episode guys I'm calling it Draymond Strikes Again.
Literally.
Yes, we're talking about Draymond Green, the hit he had on Joseph Nerkik and the suspension
that follows.
I'll cover it from A to Z so just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Okay guys it's your boy GD back with the All Things Basketball with GD Podcast and this
episode, this will be a special episode actually.
I was thinking of what to name this and it really became crystal clear to me.
So we're going to call this Draymond Strikes Again.
Literally.
So on hat note guys, let us get into it.
Your buddy and my Draymond Green, guys you know I've talked about it maybe the past couple
of episodes, not the last one but the two prior and guys I said it was just a matter
of time for something to pop off where he just can't help himself and lo and behold
December 14th.
So let's talk about it.
On December 14th on a Tuesday night, Golden State playing the Phoenix Suns at Phoenix
in a actually competitive game and then when we got to the third quarter with Golden State
actually up 65 to 60, right about the 823 mark, the ball goes loose so Draymond Green
who was guarding Joseph Nerkik at the time, both guys go for the loose ball and Draymond
with Joseph Nerkik supposedly grabbing his hip so Draymond flails his arms and actually
does like a 180 and turns around and strikes Nerkik right in the face dropping him right
to the ground.
Then you have the refs, they're going to review it, review the play and then remember Draymond
Green he's a recidivist guys, he's done this before so the refs review it.
Of course they're taking this history into account and everything else.
They review the play and they deem it a flagrant two file which means he is automatically ejected
from the game.
Guys this makes his 19th ejection of his career and with that ejection actually Draymond immediately
runs off the court.
He doesn't do the you know bring on the booze and all that stuff.
He immediately runs off the court.
I think in that instance he pretty much knows I messed up.
I crossed the line that it's probably going to cost me some games and I thought that was
very significant him just running off the court because he knew I'm in trouble this
time.
So with that said the game actually was on TNT but the regular guys Ernie, Kenny, Shaq
and Charles they weren't actually doing it that night because Ernie Johnson was getting
inducted into the sports casters Hall of Fame and big up to Ernie Johnson for getting that
honor after 32 years of doing what he does.
So the regular guys weren't there so you had Adam Lefko who he's back now he just his
wife had a baby congratulations to them so it was Lefko in Ernie's chair and you had
Grant Hill, Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford on the panel.
Of course they talked about the game.
Oh by the way Phoenix ended up winning that game against the Golden State Warriors.
So the guys are talking about it and of course everyone's surprised me not so much but everyone's
surprised and the one thing Grant Hill said that a kind of heart too is you can't keep
doing these sort of things and guys you know I've been echoing this for the longest time.
You cannot continue this behavior and of course I've been saying the last couple of times
I talked about him he has an anger problem guys.
He needs anger management that's what he needs.
A lot of the guys you know talked about it and Jamal Crawford who's one of the nicest
guys on the panel he couldn't even defend him.
And then the following day on first take you heard a somber Stephen A Smith talk about
the incident and how he couldn't defend the action and also his career could be in jeopardy
now.
Maybe this is his last season with Golden State all those sort of things.
I'm going to circle back to him because I need to say something about him but I'll circle
back to that when we talk about the suspension.
And also he said he was uncomfortable saying that Draymond has problems I'm using air quotes
and that he has anger issues again using air quotes.
So that was his take on it.
Brian Wynhors was on the show as well.
He's basically said well he said a number of things but what stood out to me was he's
crushing his team right now which he is.
I make no mistake about that.
He's really hindering his team and you got to remember Golden State Warriors have the
highest payroll in the NBA which means the owner over there is paying the highest tax
on his payroll.
So you have that dynamic.
Also bear in mind that this season thus far in games without Draymond Green the team is
2 and 5 so you have that dynamic the fact of when he's not there the team suffers on
the court.
And also he said Draymond doesn't exactly portray himself as a sympathetic figure.
Oh and let me just circle to what Steve Kerr said immediately after the game and Draymond
who wasn't supposed to be in a press conference after the game but you know him he likes to
talk so.
And I think he may have did himself more harm than good by what he said.
Steve Kerr said he didn't see the incident.
Although the incident happened right in front of the Golden State Warrior bench so much
so you saw one of the guys on their bench like oh my goodness but supposedly Steve Kerr
didn't see it.
And then he also said you can't lose your poise like that.
He's too important to the team.
But here's the whole problem with that.
You guys enabled him.
You guys treated him with kid gloves and when you do that this is what you get as a result
guys.
You get a person who again I talked about this no accountability whatsoever and no remorse
whatsoever no regrets about his actions.
So you kind of can't have it both ways here.
If you dealt with him with a heavy hand especially during the Jordan Poole incident where he punched
out his teammate I know people gonna say in hindsight look at how foolish Jordan Poole
is acting in Washington.
And actually me and my boy went packing forth on this friend of the show D and me and him
is on opposite positions on this.
He thought Jordan Poole deserved what he got me not so much you can't punch out a teammate
when they're talking crap.
That's the one area we agree to disagree but I digress.
So again going back to Steve Kerr and the goat state warriors they should have dealt
that situation with a heavy hand and they didn't do that.
Their lives your problem.
And then Dreymon he goes and talks to the media which again I don't think he should
have did but he did.
And here's what he says.
I usually don't apologize for things I intend to do but I apologize to Yusuf and he pretty
much called it unintentional and he said it was bad luck what happened.
Dreymon, Dreymon, Dreymon.
First of all the beginning of that statement is what irks me.
I usually don't apologize for things I intend to do like that's a weakness or something.
It's nothing wrong with admitting that you're wrong even when you intended to do it.
There's no wrong in that.
So this whole notion of you being this guy who not going to apologize even for intentional
actions you got to be a grown up Dreymon.
What are you doing here?
Now what was even more damning is what Yusuf Nurkic said.
He said that brother needs help and also he's glad he didn't choke me.
Think about those statements guys.
Here you are a professional basketball player and this is what you have to say coming out
of a game that you glad that your opponent didn't choke you.
If this was MMA or wrestling or anything like that that's a statement we can look at and
understand.
This is the game of basketball.
No one should have to make that statement there and that's the problem.
And I'm pretty sure the league heard that and had a raised eye about it.
And then Kevin Durant.
Here's what he said.
I don't think it was immediately after the game but I think it was the next day.
But here's what he said.
That's not the Dreymon I know.
Hope he gets the help he needs.
You now have it from two different people and Kevin Durant is not a guy who speaks on
of a player especially to kind of diss them and so forth.
And even with his own team you know a lot of people especially when he goes with the
Nets.
One of him to speak to Kyrie when Kyrie was going through his stuff and he always refused.
So the fact that he's in front of a microphone he said this about Dreymon.
That's not good guys.
That's not good.
So you have all of this cumulative stuff happening here.
Oh let me go back to first take.
Also on that Wednesday morning was Mad Dog Chris Russo.
And this is what he said.
Your everyday fan basically your fans outside of Golden State are sick of Dreymon Green.
They're sick of him and his antics and they're pretty much done with him because you know
he has a national radio show so he's hearing from all these different people and so forth.
Jay Williams was also on there and he said that he's not only a danger to himself but
to others and that's true.
And then I couple those guys there.
Rob Parker called Steve Curran Enabler which he is.
I just spoke about that and that the players association needs to do something in this
matter.
They need to intervene in some sort of way.
And then also two guys a side note Andre Igudala is actually the interim director of the players
association rather.
So you have somebody who was Dreymon's teammate.
So take that for what it's worth you know.
I'm sure that plays into things.
And then remember Joe Dumas himself the czar of discipline and all those sort of things.
He has a personal relationship with Dreymon Green.
Dreymon Green was around those piston teams.
The ones that Joe Dumas was the general manager of the ones that went to the finals back to
back and won one final against the LA Lakers.
So Dreymon was around those guys there as a youngster of course.
So Dumas has a close relationship with him.
So you bear that in mind.
And then my guys on the given goal show Rick Kamala and Antonio Daniels.
They talked about the incident as well.
And they were pretty much live it.
Rick Kamala who loves everybody.
He was done with Dreymon and Antonio Daniels.
He just here's what he said.
Dreymon's intent whatever it was really doesn't matter.
It's the incident itself and why it's going to be dealt with a heavy hand.
So with all that said, Joe Dumas makes his decision and he hands down an indefinite suspension
to Dreymon Green.
The big question.
What does that look like?
Is it eight games?
Is it 10 games?
Is it 20 games?
Of course there's going to be thresholds that he must reach criteria that he must fulfill
including getting help, counseling also that's in there.
So it's these all these different things that has to be reached in order for him to get
back on the court.
Could it take half a season?
Could it take all of the season?
We don't know.
And that afternoon after it was handed down, I listened to the given goal again.
Antonio Daniels pretty much called it and Rick Kamala agreed a cop out because they were
more definitive about it concerning John Moran and of course his 25 game suspension of which
he will be available next week and then Kyrie Irvin with the situation with what he posted
on social media and so forth.
But it's still where it's really no accountability.
Sure it's indefinite and all those sort of things but what is the end game here?
Of course, you know, I had to listen to the different shows and so forth.
The odd couple there, they talked about it.
Chris Musa said the late David Stern wouldn't even go for this.
It wouldn't even got this far.
He would have nipped it in the bud, gave him a suspension boom and could have very well
given him a season long one.
But he did give kudos to Adam Silver for putting forth this suspension and then Rob Parker.
He calls this because remember he's called Steve Curran enabler.
This is an indictment on the Golden State franchise, which I wholeheartedly agree.
They now are not in a position of doing much of anything concerning discipline of Dreemond.
They're not in that business right now anyway.
And then you have First Take, which have Stephen A. Smith on, Kendrick Perkins is on there
and Brian Wynne Horse.
This is what Stephen A. Smith pretty much said.
It's unfortunate, but unexcusable concerning Dreemond's actions, but it's well deserved.
And he's uncomfortable again.
Now he's uncomfortable with the words indefinite.
And he said he's lucky that David Stern isn't the current commissioner.
But I want to circle back to just his somber tone.
And here's what I want to say concerning Stephen A. Smith.
You need to keep that same energy that you had for Zion when you said the man was so
fat and you was fat shaming him.
Keep that same energy when you said the man will eat the table.
That's how fatty is.
That's how gritty is.
Keep that same energy.
But no, you don't have that energy for Dreemond.
Why?
Because, and I heard this with a lot of the guys making their statements anyway, that
he's a good guy, personable so far.
So you have this relationship with him, but you're unwilling to go there with him and
call a spade a spade.
I've been yelling from the rooftops the man has an anger issue that he needs anger management.
Nobody's willing to touch that.
Now everybody's like, yeah, he needs to deal with his anger so far.
And Stephen A. still won't even say that.
So this whole notion you could be bombastic about Zion.
And then you have this kind of timid sort of take on Dreemond.
That's the duplicity that people talk about when they talk about you.
That's duplicitous.
The fact that you can rail against Zion, even so much so demands stepfather had to call
you and kind of check you.
That's what I'm talking about with this guy, Stephen A. but I'll leave it alone there.
Kendrick Perkins, he said was fair on both sides.
Say he's lucky it's just an indefinite suspension, which a lot of people are pretty much saying
with an indefinite suspension.
It now leaves the ball in Dreemond's court.
What are you going to do concerning getting the help you need and so forth?
And he said something to that.
I'll say it now and then I'll circle back to it.
The best player on the team isn't always the vocal leader.
Steph Curry is the best player yet Dreemond Green is the vocal leader.
So file that away for now.
Brian Wynhors, he pretty much said it's no longer about the punishment, but it's about
finding a cause.
And they're hoping that this is his last suspension, meaning that he go gets the help he needs
and he doesn't run into these issues here.
And he also says that the Golden State Warriors, they're no longer in control of what happens
to Dreemond.
And it's kind of what I just said a minute ago.
There no longer in a position to discipline him or anything like that.
You had your chance and you blew it.
Now the league has had to come and clean up your mess for you.
And also that Dreemond has run out of defenders because even when he choked Rudy Goldberg,
he had guys defending him for that because of course Rudy Goldberg kind of broke the
unwritten rule of grabbing a posing player.
So people kind of went to his defense in that regard, but you still can't choke on a guy.
I mean, come on.
And then Steve Smith, the basketball player, he was on NBA TV and he said that indefinitely
to him means forever, potentially, if he doesn't get his act together.
And that could be kind of true if he doesn't get his stuff together.
How you gonna allow him back on the court?
So there's a bit of truth to that as well.
So you have all these different perspectives and then Joe Dumas himself came on the first
take show, pretty much defending the reason that it's indefinite suspension, saying they're
more concerned about Dreemond getting the help he needs and so forth.
And then the final thing I'll probably talk about is this.
In the aftermath of this, Stephen A. Smith calls into question Steph Curry's leadership
and he says if this was LeBron James, we'd be holding them to a higher standard.
Why we don't hold Steph Curry to that same standard.
This is where I circle back to what Kendrick Perkins said.
Kendrick Perkins, a former player in the NBA, and he himself said the best player isn't
always the vocal leader.
And I believe that about the Gold State Warriors.
Steph Curry isn't going to be that guy getting in guys face and telling them what to do so
forth.
And Stephen A. actually pointed out the fact that Steph Curry went to Jordan Poole while
he was on the team and kind of got on his case there.
I think that's more of a one and done because of how Jordan Poole was.
He has jerk tendencies.
So Steph Curry isn't that vocal leader and he's your best player.
So and that's okay.
That's fine that he's not a vocal leader.
That's perfectly fine.
I've seen it here in New York where Patrick Ewan wasn't the vocal leader.
We had other guys that was leaders in that locker room and that was fine.
That was okay.
In fact, that team that went to 1999 NBA finals, you know, it wasn't the vocal leader there.
It was guys like Larry Johnson, it was guys like Spreewell.
Those guys were kind of the leaders at that point.
But this whole notion that the best player should be the vocal leader, that's not true.
And furthermore, what if Steph Curry did have a conversation with Draymond?
It's just that the cameras weren't rolling and nobody's reporting on it.
Is that a possibility?
Absolutely 100%.
So with that said, Steve Kerr fired back at the notion of Steph Curry not being a good
leader and he called it disgusting.
And it sounds like the rantings of someone who's in need of clicks.
To which Stephen A. Smith took a reception to that.
He clapped back saying that first of all, he tried to double back and say he didn't
call Steph Curry a bad leader, which he pretty much did.
And that he doesn't need clicks because he has to remind the world he has the number
one sports talk show on TV and so forth, which to me is kind of shows your insecurity about
yourself and that you can't stand on what you said.
That I'll just leave it at that.
So in totality guys, this situation here, not good, definitely not good.
And listen, as a fan of basketball, I would like to see the man get help.
I would like to see him change his ways in that regard and deal with what he's dealing
with because there is something that's going on beneath it all.
There's something going on here in that he needs to get to the bottom of, you know, of
course on social media, people are like, Oh, there's nothing wrong with him.
He's just, he just gets a little worked up or Oh, this is child's play compared to the
80s and 90s.
And I say you're in a different time and space now, you're in a more image conscious NBA,
where this sort of stuff matters.
And the fact that that game was on national television, even more so, the NBA had to do
something and had to do something substantial.
Thus the indefinite suspended.
Can I predict when he'll be back?
I wish I could guys I can't.
It all lies with Dre Maugh.
What does Dre Maugh want to do?
I know one thing Steve Kerr is really going to have to really earn that coaching check
because you're going to be without a guy who's instrumental to your success.
You got a promising young guy and Jonathan Kaminga.
You're going to have to just rework the offense, retool the defense and you're just going to
have to figure out how to continue life without Dre Maugh for the foreseeable future.
All right guys, so I'm going to leave it there.
You know, we'll see what happens with this guy.
All right guys, I'm going to end it right here.
And once again, thank you as always for listening to the podcast as much appreciate it.
I had to do this special episode because the news just came down.
I had to hear from the different talking heads and kind of formulate my thoughts that way
and boom, here you go.
Here's the episode.
So with that said guys, I'll be back again and then also sleeping peace for Hall of Famer
George McGinnis.
I'm hoping to do a couple of player spotlights coming up.
I hope to get those done.
Maybe coming into the new year I'll work on those.
It's a few players that I need to talk about.
So I'll work on that and of course your weekly highlights as always.
So with that said, I thank you for listening as always and we'll talk soon.
Take care.
Hello my peeps.
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