Even Draymond Green's longtime, championship-tandem teammates are expressing frustration with the Golden State forward's on-court antics.
Green returned to the basketball court Tuesday after serving his five-game suspension for putting the Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert in a chokehold — and proceeded to pick up yet another technical foul for arguing about a no-call and then mocking a carry gesture. This technical — which took place in the fourth quarter, while the Warriors were still winning — shifted the momentum in favor of the Sacramento Kings, who used that momentum swing to come back and earn a 124-123 victory against Golden State.
Draymond heated after no call. Got tech on next play ? pic.twitter.com/cC3WV0k5Xw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 29, 2023
The teammate who pulled Green away from the referee who gave the technical was Steph Curry, who could be seen speaking to Green after the technical foul was issued. During a postgame press conference, Curry made his irritation about the entire situation known.
Steph wants Draymond to be his fiery, competitive self, but not to the point where he gets "distracted" from playing basketball ? pic.twitter.com/B3VmBEXJE1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 29, 2023
When asked what he told Green after the technical, Curry said, "He's passionate. He's shown in the past that when he gets fiery, you kind of know where the limit is. The carry sign and all that, I was doing the same thing right behind him and they gave him the tech, just because that's kind of what you expect him to do in that kind of situation. I told him just refocus at that point and let's just hoop."
Curry did also note that he didn't think the technical was justified. "But that was a dumb tech for sure," he said. "We all do that. ... For him, be fiery, be competitive, be who you are. But we all need to be mindful of not getting distracted and just try to play basketball."
While Curry managed to get his message across to the media without stabbing his teammate in the back, anybody who has followed the Warriors during the Curry Era has heard him say similar things in the past when talking about Green's on-court antics. Yet, no matter what he or anyone else says, Green keeps crossing the line and costing his team.
However, coach Steve Kerr wasn't so politically correct in addressing his technical on Tuesday. When speaking with a Bay Area radio station after the game, Kerr said, "I was really disappointed last night that he got the tech, reaction, the foul afterwards because the momentum really swung back towards Sacramento."
Perhaps these comments from his team's head coach and franchise player will be the wake-up call Draymond Green needs in order to keep his emotions in check. Or perhaps not.
