The fallout from Draymond Green’s actions on the court didn’t just affect him, it also left Warriors leader, Steph Curry, open to criticisms.
During Draymond’s 12-game suspension, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith openly questioned Curry’s leadership on an episode of First Take.
“Where’s the leadership? Where’s he at? What kind of impact is he having?” Smith asked at the time.
Green addressed Smith’s remarks in his first public comments since his suspension and explained why he was so upset by the comments.
“One thing throughout this process that really hurt me, I turned on the TV screen and Stephen A. [Smith] was like ‘Steph is a bad leader because Draymond did X,'” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “And it pissed me off but it crushed me. It crushed me because how is Steph enduring being a bad leader? Like this guy doesn’t give us anything to tear him down about. This guy does everything the right way and yet he’s being torn down because of my actions? It crushed me. That was a tough blow to deal with.”
Draymond went on to issue a heartfelt apology to his longtime teammate Steph.
“And because [Curry] got crushed publicly for that, I’m going to apologize publicly,” Green said. “I sincerely apologize to Steph for my actions. Because that was a tough pill to swallow. Very thankful for Steph as I’ve been out on this time. We talked every day, every other day, just checking in. He’s like, ‘Yo, I’m going to be right here with you through this. I’m going to help you through this.’ And he’s been very much so [doing] that.”
Draymond was part of the Warriors’ walkthrough on Sunday and could be seen on the bench during the franchises’ 133-118 loss to the Raptors.
Golden State went 7-5 in his absence and will now be without Chris Paul for over a month, so fans are hoping that Green’s injection will help to turn things around.
READ MORE: Draymond Green Says He Considered Retirement Amid Suspension