Draymond Green Garners Attention in New TV Role
On the floor, Draymond Green is known for his ability to do just about everything. He can score inside, handle the ball, pass, rebound, defend, knock down the occasional three-pointer and serves as a vocal and emotional leader as well. His skill as a player is well-known, but as the NBA bubble goes on without the Warriors, he has found a new position: television analyst.
The three-time All-Star has made a number of appearances on TNT’s studio coverage of the action in Orlando, and while he made several of his typical attention-grabbing comments, he also offered genuinely interesting thoughts on the games and the season as a whole.
For Green, appearing on TNT meant being on the same set as Charles Barkley, with whom Green has long feuded. The two took some time to clear the air and diffuse any tension that might have been present.
“The issue that I've had is, a lot of people watch the game of basketball, and don't know what they're looking at,” Green said. “So when they look at a Chuck or they look at different guys who [have] these platforms, they take what you're saying and they listen to that and they run with that. So where as for me, it hasn't necessarily affected my pockets, but there are a lot of guys in this league that people run with what guys say on these platforms, and it affects guys’ pockets.”
In the moment that has made perhaps the most headlines, Green commented on the success that the Phoenix Suns have experienced while in the bubble, led by their star guard Devin Booker. Green, who has criticized the Suns organization in the past, once again did not hold back with his words.
“Get my man out of Phoenix. It's not good for him, it's not good for his career,” Green said of Booker. “They've got to get Book out of Phoenix. I need my man to go somewhere where he can play great basketball all the time and win because he's that type of player.”
Green jokingly admitted that his comments could be seen as tampering by the NBA, a prediction that came true when the league fined him $50,000. TNT poked fun at Green’s comment by alluding to a mock fundraiser to pay his fine on air, and Green took the entire incident in stride in an Instagram post where he claimed to be starting a GoFundMe to cover the costs.
But while the off-the-court tales draw the attention in the media, Green has provided great basketball insight. He gave his picks for Rookie of the Year (Ja Morant), Defensive Player of the Year (Anthony Davis) and MVP (LeBron James) while raising interesting points about the ways in which NBA fans and pundits view James Harden’s stats and style of play, among other topics.
“Does James Harden get penalized for the numbers that he’s putting up now?” Green asked rhetorically. “Is everybody just used to it and that’s what you expect, and so now no one gives him the credit that he’s deserving? I think I see a little bit of that.”
But the highlight of Green’s time on television, at least thus far, was his analysis of game tape from the matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, Aug. 8. In a roughly one-minute segment, Green broke down the ways in which the Clippers were defending Damian Lillard and forcing other Blazers players to make plays outside of their comfort zones. He then explained how the Blazers could potentially beat this by setting higher screens, giving Lillard more room to operate.
It was truly fascinating to watch an active player analyze the play of his peers during halftime of a game. He presented information that the average fan might not see for themselves in an easily digestible manner. Now, that isn’t inherently amazing — plenty of players in the NBA right now probably would have been able to point out the same things that he did. But for Green, who is often seen as a trash-talking energy guy and little else, it meant more. It showed him to be what Warriors fans have long known him to be: a true student of the game and high-IQ player whose strong play is backed by a deep knowledge of the intricacies of basketball.
For years, Draymond Green has been a polarizing figure on NBA courts, and he hasn’t completely strayed from being the same way during his new foray into analysis. But he has been honest, insightful and interesting, and everybody should be able to appreciate that.