Draymond Green has shown time and time again that he does not think highly of Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams.
The Warriors’ 97-84 victory over the Hornets at Chase Center on Friday provided the most recent proof in favor of that claim.
The conclusion of a nasty game was marred by a late-game altercation between the two teams. With little over 12 seconds left in regulation, Warriors player Lester Quinones attempted a layup, setting off the incident. Miles Bridges, a winger for the Hornets, goaltended the shot attempt and shoved Quinones as a result.
The players on the floor gathered beneath the Warriors’ hoop and engaged in a multi-minute brawl. After being taken out of the game a few minutes earlier, Green was near the Golden State bench when the brawl broke out, and Williams found himself in the center of it.
When questioned about the controversy during his news conference after the game, Green ripped into Williams, using more than three minutes to thoroughly dissect him.
“Yeah, I don’t really understand why people get so mad at like somebody scoring at the end of the game,” Green stated to the media. “Everyone gets angry like it’s this stupid unofficial unwritten law. Would you become enraged if he put up the ball while you guys were winning by thirteen points? I don’t think so. It’s therefore somewhat of a sore loser situation.
I won’t sit here and go in on Miles because he’s my little brother and my guy, Miles [Bridges]. I can never be wronged by Miles. But Grant Williams, you really have to stop it. He can’t maintain his tough guy persona forever. It’s not going well at all for him. He seems like a genuinely lovely guy, but for some reason, he always tries to come across as unlikeable, and let me tell you, it’s not always enjoyable around here. It’s not enjoyable all the time. I’m not sure, dude; he needs to work things out. Talking too much is kind of like overdoing it and he’s talking too much over there now, and it kind of took you out of Dallas. Thus, you may want to cut back on your tough man behavior and ease down.
“Dude, you want to be the [Players Association] president and all that. You cannot be doing all of that outside. CJ McCollum doesn’t go around acting like a tough guy. As the head of the Players Association, Chris [Paul] was tough as nails, but given that CP is six feet tall, you had to be pretty nasty to be that good.
“Man, I have no idea what Grant Williams is doing out here. This year, he’s been getting into it with everyone. He came over to our bench, thinking he was going to make a new buddy. There are no buddies for you here, my man; you should go talk to your guys down there. You are not permitted to visit us and discuss the recent events involving our players. Like, we’re with [Quinones].
Additionally, the shot clock has a two-second disparity. Do you want us to accept one more turnover? With 22 turnovers in one game, we’ve already had enough. Do you want us to get 23? Additionally, you are unable to press down 13 with one minute remaining, and when someone makes a layup with 22 seconds left, you become enraged. We took out our stars at 2:45 and said, “Go sit down, it’s over.” The game has ended; take a seat. They were unwilling to take a seat. Thus, if you’re still playing, keep playing since you’ll eventually feel like it’s out of reach with 22 seconds remaining. At 2:45, we clearly believed it was out of reach, which is why Steve Kerr brought everyone out.
Therefore, it’s okay that you believe it’s out of reach and say, ‘Oh, it ends now.’ No, that is not how it operates. I’m so tired of guys who say things like, “Oh, you scored at the end.” Like, dude, you need to have taken care of it long ago.
“Yeah, dude. Offer up prayers for Grant Williams.
Williams and the Warriors have a lengthy history that began with the 2022 NBA Finals.
During that Warriors-Celtics series, Williams and Green had multiple run-ins. Williams then declared that Boston was the superior team after Golden State won the Finals.
Then, in a playful poke at Williams, emcee Steph Curry of the 2022 ESPY Awards said that Williams might borrow his suit so he could try on his championship ring.
Williams’ latest run-in with the Warriors isn’t helping his cause; it’s obvious they don’t think much of him.
