Draymond Green Savagely Reminds Lakers’ $4M Wing of His Failed Trade: 'You Got Traded and Got Traded Back'
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green isn’t someone who backs down easily. He doesn’t mind if it’s the regular season, the playoffs or the preseason. Fans saw that on-court trait of Green in Sunday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The 6-foot-6 forward got into a trash-talking battle with the Lakers’ wing, Dalton Knecht, during an exhibition game.
Throughout his career, the forward has been an extremely vocal player for his team. He stands up for himself and his teammates, making him one of the best agitators in the NBA.
During the game, he had an interaction with Knecht while the Lakers’ new center, Deandre Ayton, was shooting free throws. Green reminded the $4 million wing player about what happened to him last season, when he was traded by the LA team to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams. The California team wanted Williams to be their starting center after they acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.
Unfortunately for the former Tennessee star, the trade did not push through, and he remains with the franchise that drafted him.
The engagement started when Knecht seemingly attempted to trash-talk to the four-time NBA champion. It backfired since Draymond Green came prepared and humbled the youngster, putting him back in his place.
“Don’t talk s**t to me, you got traded and got traded back,” Green said.
The trade involving Knecht did not push through after Williams failed his physical. Following that, the Lakers decided to keep the rookie forward and settled with Jaxson Hayes as the team’s starting center.
Draymond Green believes the Warriors are better positioned to win a championship this season
The Warriors are still determined to contend for the championship after an early exit last season. The group challenged the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets, to a seven-game series in the opening round of the postseason. However, they were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves after five games.
This year, they are motivated to do a better job, especially now that they’ll get to play with Jimmy Butler for a full season. During a conversation with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Green revealed that he believes the team is in a better position to win the title than it was in the previous season.
“We think we’re even in a better position now to win a championship than we were last year,” Green told ESPN. “Last year, Jimmy didn’t even know any defensive terminologies, we were just making it work. So I think we actually have an opportunity to build this thing the right way, and work towards a championship the way you have to do it.”
Aside from having Butler for the entire season, the Warriors also gave help to Green and Steph Curry by adding Al Horford and Seth Curry.
Mina Kimes Doesn’t Hold Back on Seahawks After Beating Jaguars
The Seattle Seahawks‘ defense had a bounce-back performance in the 20-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6. After giving up 38 points in the shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5, the Seahawks’ defense responded with an impressive performance.
Furthermore, the group made life difficult for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Seattle defense sacked Lawrence seven times in the game as they wouldn’t allow a repeat of Week 5, where an offense did whatever they wanted.
NFL Next Gen Stats (h/t Seahawks.com) shows the Seahawks pressured Lawrence on 25 of his 50 dropbacks, marking the highest rate of pressure he has faced this season. Seattle’s defense sacked him seven times—already surpassing his total sacks over the first five games (6)—and added 17 quarterback hits.
On the October 13 edition of “NFL Live,” ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes gave the Seahawks’ defense their flowers for how they performed against the Jaguars, which was something she didn’t expect to start the game.
“Early on there were a couple busted coverages,” Kimes said. “I’m thinking this is going to be another shootout like the Tampa game. And then the Seahawks defensive line said, ‘Nah.’ This was a feeding frenzy at the line of scrimmage. Seven sacks, 17 quarterback hits, 25 pressures. Going back and watching all the sacks.”
Mina Kimes Talks Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald
Moreover, Kimes spotlighted the defensive play calling from head coach Mike Macdonald and how he never allowed Lawrence to get comfortable with the constant pressure that Seattle was generating.
“It really is amazing to watch Mike Macdonald,” Kimes added. “He’s a mad scientist at work with some of the overloads. He was using the defensive linemen like chessmen, the games they were
“Leonard Williams is the best defensive lineman in football that people don’t talk about. He was borderline unblockable in this game. He dominates week after week, but he is a truly special player and part of a truly special defensive line.”
Seahawks Defense Came Up Big Late
Nonetheless, while the Seahawks had an impressive performance, Macdonald noted that the team’s ability to shut the door on the Jaguars after giving up a touchdown to make the scoreline 20-12 was just as outstanding.
“That’s been an emphasis for us,” Macdonald said of the defense’s finish (h/t Seahawks.com). “We weren’t shying away from it, and our guys were awesome. I think you could sense it on the sideline that they wanted the opportunity to go out there and play, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.
“It’s not like—there’s no secret play calls that you hide on your play sheet until the fourth quarter then all of a sudden you just start waving the magic wand. We’re executing our defense
“But I think the mentality was the driving force behind how we finished the game out, and that starts with our leaders on defense, our coaches—AD (defensive coordinator Aden Durde) did a tremendous job all week getting our guys ready to go. It was a fun group to be around as the fourth quarter
