Draymond Green is tired of Kenyon Martin's criticism of him.
When the former No. 1 pick recently fired off what Green described as “shots,” the Golden State Warriors star felt he had to respond to the former NBA All-Star.
“I don’t know how you can keep shooting at me and you can’t do it,” Green said on his podcast.
“Like, an All-Star? Don't kid yourself, you're an All-Star. I'll give you that. A lot of people can't say they're an All-Star. I'll give you that, you're a one-time All-Star. That's nice, but you have to admit being the player you were and the defender you thought you were and not having a single All-Defensive Second Team? That's kind of an underachievement. Number one in the draft is what a lot of people are hoping for waiting for this guy to be named rookie of the year [he] not. All-rookie team though. First-team All-Rookie, that's an honor I can't claim. I didn't really play much as a rookie, the 35th pick. I can't say I made an All-Rookie team, so kudos. I take my hat off to that.”
Admittedly, Green was hesitant to attack Martin for two reasons:
First, he doesn't want to advertise to anyone who might be baiting him. Secondly, he wants to maintain respect – especially when it comes to former players he looks up to.
“I've been rooting for this guy for a long time. So I'm not, I'm not a wishy-washy guy,” Green explained.
“Just because someone says something, I'm not just going to jump out and say, 'Oh man, I have to respond or forget all about this.' No, I stand by what I believe in, and what I believed in is like… I supported this guy, so I'm not just going to jump out of the loop and attack him or react and engage in this back and forth because I had respect and love as a kid. Shots keep coming!”
Martin's criticism was directed at Green's role as the Warriors' enforcer. The quote that went viral said that Martin called Green a “fake tough guy.” While Martin added that he has “respect” for Green's career and what he did for the Warriors dynasty, he stood by his opinion.
Green simply felt the need to answer.
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