Draymond Green asks Warriors teammate Klay Thompson for his take on ejections this season

Draymond Green got a heartfelt response from his Golden State Warriors teammate Klay Thompson when he asked the guard for his “brutally honest” take on his frequent ejections this season, as the latter told the former, “we just need you.”

Thompson appeared on “The Draymond Green Show,” just a day after scoring 32 points in the Warriors’ home win against the Utah Jazz, and reminded Green of his and the team’s success when he’s on the court and playing, compared to when it is thrown away. and unhappy, which can rub off on his peer and disrupt chemistry everywhere.

‘When you’re not there, it’s like a part of us is gone. Without you we can never be ourselves and have the freedom we have on the field. So I know the other team is very happy that you are not there. They can…they relax a little bit,” Thompson said first.

“They let their hair down because our muscles were gone, our enforcer, that guy — the heartbeat of our team is not out there. We’ve been through so many battles, reached the mountain top, descended the mountain, climbed back up, and now we have a real shot at this again. So in the end we just need you.

“And that disappointment and that feeling of shaking your head just comes from, ‘damn man, we can’t do this without you.’ And we are not the Warriors without Money Green. That’s just a fact.’

Klay Thompson brutally told Draymond Green to stop the ejections ahead of the playoffs

Green has been ejected a total of four times this season, with his last ejection coming less than four minutes into the Warriors’ 101-93 win against the Orlando Magic last month (March 27).

It was the power forward’s first elimination since his 16-game suspension by the NBA for his history of misconduct and after he punched Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face during a Dec. 12 game.

The 33-year-old Green, part of four Warriors championship teams, was ejected for the 18th time in his career at the time – the most among active NBA players. He was also thrown out in November for head-locking Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert before later receiving a five-game suspension for his actions.

Last season, Green took a leave of absence from the 2022 NBA champions during training camp in what coach Steve Kerr called a “mutual decision” after the player violently punched then-teammate Jordan Poole in the face. Neither player was injured.

New Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said when he got the job after the end of last season that he was committed to keeping Green, who was soon after signed a new four-year, $100 million contract in late June. Kerr has always said he loves Green’s fiery, boundary-pushing style of play, but it will be interesting to see how both sides cope with this latest discipline.

Last spring, Green was suspended for a Game 3 playoff win against the Sacramento Kings after stepping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest during a Game 2 loss. The Warriors became the first defending champions to overcome an 0-2 deficit and win a playoff series.

Golden State suspended Green for one game in November 2018 for conduct detrimental to the team. In the final seconds of regulation during a 121-116 overtime loss on the road to the Clippers, Green secured a rebound and as Kevin Durant called for the ball, dribbled the length of the court into traffic and lost control when the Warriors failed to get the ball. fired a shot. Durant was shown visibly upset on camera and the two went at it afterward.

In 2016, Green was suspended for a crucial Game 5 loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals after making too many glaring mistakes in the playoffs that season. The Warriors ultimately lost in seven games. Then-general manager Bob Myers sat with Green next to Oracle Arena at the Oakland Coliseum for the game Green missed.

Green, a second-round draft pick in 2012 out of Michigan State, is averaging 9.7 points, 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 15 games this season. He has said repeatedly lately that the chemistry has improved greatly this season. Poole was traded to Washington for Chris Paul on draft day.

Green said “it was hard to come to work” and “not fun.”

“Last year we had a terrible team chemistry-wise – pathetic,” he said. ‘ You look at last year and say, ‘Ah man, this team hasn’t lost a Western Conference series under Steve Kerr.’ And then it happens. The main reason for this is that our chemistry is bad.’