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Draymond Green’s Viral Rant Was a Mixed Bag: TRAINA THOUGHTS

Draymond Green sent a strong, but flawed message about how players are treated

Jimmy Traina

1. If you were perusing Twitter late Monday or early Tuesday, you probably saw tweets from people praising Draymond Green for comments he made during his postgame press conference after the Warriors beat the Cavaliers on Monday night.

In the presser, a passionate Green spoke up for players who get blasted for demanding a trade while organizations get a pass for announcing that players are on the trading block. (This was a topic of discussion this week because both Andre Drummond in Cleveland and Blake Griffin in Detroit were put on the block.)

After watching the full three-minute clip, I was struck by how there was nothing but universal praise for Green despite the fact that his soliloquy was filled with just as many bad points as good points.

Green made an excellent observation about the hypocrisy with trades. If a player goes public with a trade demand, he gets fined and taken to task by the media and fans, but if a team goes public about wanting to deal a player, it’s perfectly accepted. Clearly there is a double standard there and Green is totally right about it being unfair.

However, Green pulled a vintage Elaine Benes move and just tried to yadda-yadda-yadda the fact that James Harden completely dogged it during his final days in Houston.

You can’t do that. What Harden did was disgraceful. I have no problem with any player asking for a trade, but you can’t screw over your teammates in the process. Green would’ve been better off not mentioning Harden.

Then there was this gem.

Maybe this is just my New York bias talking, but I can assure you that no player in this area has been ripped, mocked and hated more over the past 20 years than Knicks owner, James Dolan–and rightfully so. To say that only players get called out and organizations never called out is just wrong.

Green’s best point, however, came when he was speaking about Kyrie Irving.

“When Kyrie Irving said, ‘My mental health is off,’ everybody goes crazy about that, too,” said Green. “Do you not think that affects someone mentally? As much as we put into this game to be great, to come out here and be in shape, to produce for fans every single night, and most importantly, to help your team win, do you think that doesn’t affect someone mentally? But as players we’re told you can’t say that, you can’t say this, but teams can?”

Green is 100% dead on here. In my opinion, every single person, no matter their occupation, should be given mental health days. There are days when you are overwhelmed and need to take care of yourself. Professional athletes are no different from anyone else.

Green is a lock to be a TV star after his playing days thanks to his personality, thoughtfulness and ability to speak his mind. But you can’t defend the players 100% of the time. Harden was out of line, and owners and GMs are often taken to task for running organizations poorly.

2. Former Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie turns 70 years old today. Let's remember the time he have us one of the greatest moments in the history of Hard Knocks.

3. This must be how Novak Djokovic reacts when someone tells him to wear a mask.

4. You know I'll be glued to the TV at 8 p.m. ET tonight when the first episode of Young Rock debuts on NBC. I was going to watch no matter what, but this trailer had me officially hooked.

5. I hope you are all betting the Utah Jazz these days.

6. The guest on this week's episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by yours truly is NFL columnist Kevin Clark from The Ringer. Clark, who also appears on podcasts and hosts the video show Slow News Day, talks about the Super Bowl's lackluster ratings and why the league has a longtime issue with the 18–49 crowd. Clark also discusses how sports fans' viewing habits have changed during the pandemic and how they may change after the pandemic. In addition, Clark shares insights into his writing process, reveals what makes a good story and explains why NFL training camps are so important to him. He also gives us the behind-the-scenes story of transitioning to podcasting and the genesis of Slow News Day. Other topics include Aaron Rodgers's relationship with the media, the best concerts to see at low capacity and more.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.

You can also watch the podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM OF THE DAY: Never forget that one of the top movie stars in the world and a guy who now has his own sitcom was once this character.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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