Draymond Green’s pre-season comment on LeBron James’ YouTube show that he can’t get amped for a Sacramento Kings game because they “stink” reportedly hit the Kings sideways.
But Green corrected the record in a recent podcast appearance on Tuesday, days before the Warriors are set to take on Sacramento in the first round of the NBA playoffs starting Saturday.
“The Kings have sucked. Let’s face it,” Green said on #ThisLeague Uncut podcast. “Since I’ve been in the NBA they have sucked. They have not been in the playoffs since I’ve been in the NBA. It’s not some bulletin board of disrespect, it’s actually a fact. They are who we were when I came into the NBA.
“They’re changing now. I also said on that episode the Kings got (head coach) Mike Brown and I expect that to change. I told (Kings guard) De’Aaron Fox on my podcast, this is on you. Kings get to the playoffs, this is on you, my brother.”
The controversy stems from NBC Sports California Kings commentator Kayte Christensen-Hunter telling 95.7 The Game that Harrison Barnes (a former Warrior and current King) told her those comments were a topic of conversation within their locker room.
The Kings are making their first playoff appearance since 2006 as the third seed in the Western Conference. The Kings finished as a 10th seed or better only twice and went through 11 head coaches over the 16-year drought.
On that episode of “The Shop” posted on Oct. 6 with James, Green said he couldn’t get his competitive engine going against teams such as Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento, but added “the Kings may get better this year, I hope.”
But Green made clear in his latest podcast appearance that he had a feeling Brown and Fox could lift a troubled team from the ashes. Fox, 25, made his first All-Star appearance this season and Brown is a favorite to win Coach of the Year after leading the Kings to a 48-34 record.
“They traded Tyrese Haliburton and said De’Aaron Fox, you are our point guard,” Green said. “You need to lead us to the playoffs. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be an All-Star. Guess what, Fox went out there and led this team to the playoffs and became an All-Star and is leading that organization in the right direction.”
