Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Fire Nico Harrison
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Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors was one of the first active NBA players to speak his mind on the recent firing of Nico Harrison.
The firing of Nico Harrison has now taken over the NBA world, and just like he is with other leading storylines around the league, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors made his feelings clear on the decision to fire the general manager.
While many around the league are satisfied with the Dallas Mavericks’ move, hopingthat itwill signal a new era for the team, Green had the oppositeopinion.Speaking on his podcast, the four-time champion said he didn’t understand the hate Harrison got because nobody had seen what the team looked like when healthy.
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🏀 Before everyone rewrites the story, remember: the Mavericks never got to see the team Nico Harrison constructed at full strength…
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“Y’all just wanna go point the finger at Nico because that was astoryline. Now let’s make that astoryline again,” Green said. “That [expletive] is whack to me. So, next year, they come back, their full team that Nico intended to be out there, and they have success. Then what?”
Green iscontinuously outspoken aboutstorylines around the league, but he appears to be on his own with his latest thoughts on the Harrison firing. The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year remained firm that Patrick Dumontletting Harrison go after the backlash from the Luka Doncic trade and the team’s poor start was the wrong move.
Draymond Green Doesn’t Hold Back On Nico Harrison Firing
Speaking on his show, Green made it clear that the Mavericks fans were too impatient with Harrison.WiththeKyrie Irvinginjury and Anthony Davis’inconsistenthealth, he said they had yet to see what the team looked like at full strength, and that a decision like this should have come later,if the wins still weren’t coming in.
“The team that he’s constructed to go win a championship hasn’t been on the court,” Green said. “Nobody assumed Kyrie Irving would tear his ACL. AD startedout with theeye, he’s had the injury as of late. The team hasn’t really been out there.”
While his feelings are true, Dallas has dealt with numerous major health concerns since the Doncictrade, their 3-8 record is hard to ignore. Though Harrison claimed bringing in Davis, as well as adding Cooper Flagg, would put them in a better situation to ‘winnow,‘ that hasn’t been the case so far.
Regardless, Green believes the decision came too early, saying nobody should have had high expectations for the Mavericks.
“Guess what teams that get the No. 1 pick usually look like the next year? Trash,” he added. “You’re going to play that No. 1 pick, and although they may have a ton of potential, they’ve got to learn the NBA game. And that takes time, mistakes, but you have to play them.”
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Draymond said things could’ve turned out differently for Nico Harrison if everyone was healthy this season 🤨
(via DraymondGreenShow/YT)
Green’s point potentially has more weight now that Dallas is near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. However, they landed the first overall pick with the lowest odds of any team in NBAhistory and made the Play-In Tournament last year. Still, the proof is there, and they don’t look like an extremely competitive team to start the season.
Warriors Have Their Own Injury Concerns
Green was one of the first current NBA players to share his feelings on Harrison being fired.It wasn’t the first time he defended the now-infamous general manager, but his latest argumenton healthplaying a part is certainly not being undersold.
Regardless, he has his own team to worry about, and interestingly enough, the Warriors have struggled with injuries to begin the season as well. Green himself has missed only one game, asis thecase withJimmy Butler.However, Stephen Curry has missed three, and while he is still putting up the11th-highest scoring average in the league,he has been dealing with an apparent illness for the past few days.
Al Horford could also be a cause for concern in the Bay Area, as he has only appeared in sevengames and is set to miss the Warriors’ next matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.Before theseason,it was announcedthat he wouldn’t play in anyback-to-back games for the rest of his career, but that, along with the fact that head coach Steve Kerr has yet to start the former champion thisyear, could also be cause for concern.
Moses Moody, Will Richard, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Pat Spencer have also missed multiple games, and though Golden State is 6-5, the role players missing time early in the season is hardly ever a good sign. De’Anthony Melton and rookie Alex Toohey have also yet to suit up this season with longer-term injuries.
The Warriors have gotten strong performances out of Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Buddy Hield, but as seen in the last postseason, they’ll need all of their stars healthy if they want to win multiple playoff rounds.