Draymond Green, New York Knicks, Mike Brown
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Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors is guarded by Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks during the second half at Chase Center on January 15, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green feels the “soft” New York Knicks need to get their priorities straight, rather than taking issue with his close relationship with their head coach, Mike Brown.
After the Knicks versus Warriors game on Jan. 15, Green was seen hugging former Warriors assistant Brown, which apparently “did not land well” with members of the Knicks franchise. The postgame hug was particularly controversial since Green was assessed a flagrant foul for tripping Karl-Anthony Towns in the fourth quarter of Golden State’s 126-113 win.
On the latest “Draymond Green Show,” the defensive ace felt he was wrongly hit with a flagrant for a defensive foul on Towns.
“So, this is soft because was it really a flagrant foul?” Green asked [H/T NBC Sports Bay Area]. “Like, I didn’t take the guy out.”
“Number one, this is basketball. You’re going to get fouled,” Green continued. “Number two, it wasn’t a hard foul. And if it was a hard foul, Karl-Anthony Towns should have got up and defended himself. He didn’t because it wasn’t a hard foul.”
Draymond Defends Mike Brown Hug
Green then proceeded to explain why his hug with Brown was a spur-of-the-moment thing between two former Warriors teammates.
“Mike Brown and I won multiple championships together, and we collaborated a lot,” Green said. “That relationship is what it is. It ain’t changing because it’s built. That wasn’t that’s not an inherited relationship. That’s two human beings that took time to build that relationship.”
When the Knicks lost to the Warriors on Jan. 15, it marked their seventh loss in nine games. As such, Green feels that the Knicks misdirected their anger towards him rather than looking inward and fixing their issues.
“But if these guys are going to try to point to that and say, ‘man, that’s why we were 2-and-8 in January…’ … what about the other losses?” Green said.
“Well, was that about a hug, too? Or are people just trying to grab on to something to point to something easy and say, ‘oh, it’s this,’ and not face the real issues.”
Knicks Issues Continue
Since that loss to the Warriors, the Knicks have continued their downward spiral, dropping two of their last three games. The losses are a part of the Knicks’ concerning 3-8 record in January after Brown’s team went 10-4 in December.
The Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak with a 120-66 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, with the 54-point margin of victory setting a new franchise record. After the game, the Knicks admitted they needed a big win to regain their confidence.
“Just seeing us play the way we’re capable of playing,” Brown said after the win, via AMNY.com.
“I don’t know what the score will be every night, but the things that we did out on the floor, we talked about, we drilled, we watched film on, and our guys are more than capable. So to go see them put it together for 48 minutes was a lot of fun.”
The Knicks (26-18) will next play the Philadelphia 76ers (24-19) in an away contest on Saturday. The game could have massive playoff implications as the Knicks are only 1.5 games ahead of the fifth-seeded Sixers for the third seed.