Draymond Green goes for the jugular in response to Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks
"I, quite frankly, wouldn't like a team that beats me all the time either," he said.
In the modern, switch-happy NBA, you're often as strong as your weakest link on defense. The Memphis Grizzlies learned Wednesday that applies to trash talk as well.
For reasons increasingly difficult to ascertain, Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks again tried to reawaken the team's rivalry with the Golden State Warriors by going after Draymond Green in an ESPN interview published Friday.
Trash talk between the two teams has been common but hasn't gone Memphis' way so far. The Grizzlies were eliminated by the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals last year and have lost both games to the team this season, to say nothing of their other issues right now.
Brooks still had no trouble speaking his mind:
"I don't like Draymond at all," he says. "I just don't like Golden State. I don't like anything to do with them. Draymond talks a lot. Gets away with a lot, too. His game is cool — with Golden State — but if you put him anywhere else, you're not going to know who Draymond is. He plays with heart, plays hard, knows the ins and outs of their defense. I guess that's why they like him over there."
In that ESPN article, Green reportedly laughed and declined to respond when asked about Brooks' words. As it turns out, he was waiting to respond via "The Draymond Green Show," and he went directly for the throat.
.@Money23Green responds to Dillon Brooks’ comments pic.twitter.com/cHu7R9A5nf
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 8, 2023
Here's a quick sampling of Green's messages to Brooks as he went through the interview on his show:
"I, quite frankly, wouldn't like a team that beats me all the time either."
"You were a little kid in high school watching us win championships. Should be happy you even witnessed that."
"You talk a lot now, so if you'd have four rings, sure, you talk a lot more. Four All-Stars? You probably talk a bit more. Defensive Player of the Year? You damn sure would talk more. Two Olympic gold medals? You definitely would be talking because that would mean you beat Team USA, and we all know how that goes."
"If you ever wondered why the Memphis Grizzlies is not ready to compete for a championship, look no further than this idiot right here. They're actually depending on this guy to help them win a championship. And he says his game is cool. Quite frankly, that just shows how little you know about basketball. And yet you running around talking about a dynasty? The dynasty starts after you, not with you."
"I'm trying to figure out why they like you in Memphis. Or do they like you in Memphis? That's a better question. I'm not sure your teammates like you. But I can tell you why they like me over [in Golden State]. When you contribute in the way I have contributed to four championships, they tend to like you."
It's easy to win the trash-talk battle when you have four rings and the other guy has zero, but as the Grizzlies are showing now, it's also very difficult to win a ring.
As luck would have it, the Grizzlies and Warriors are scheduled to face off for the third time this season Thursday, with the Grizzlies still missing Ja Morant. At least the Green and Brooks battles should be fun.
