WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA – With 150 lucky kids attending a Golden State Warriors youth basketball camp on hand, power forward Draymond Green and general manager Bob Myers held a press conference yesterday to formally announce Green’s new $82 million contract.
Jim Barnett emcee’d the event and also told us he was astonished by the birthday wishes he got on Twitter the day before; Barnett was surprised that so many people knew.
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Green arrived with his mom, Mary Babers-Green, girlfriend Jelissa Hardy, friend Jaquell Jaycocks (sp?), and agent, BJ Armstrong, who used to play for the Warriors from 1995 to 1997.
Earlier, @babers_mary, Draymond's gf, and agent/ex-#Warriors BJ Armstrong… pic.twitter.com/aTQuLMxNLw
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) July 9, 2015
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Barnett started off the event saying that, aside from the attending media, the Warriors would be fielding questions from some of the kids in attendance, as well as from fans on Twitter to @warriors using the hashtag #AskDraymond.
“Mary, you’re free to tweet also,” said Barnett to Draymond’s mom, sitting in the front row with Hardy, Jaycocks, and Armstrong.
Babers-Green replied on Twitter:
They said I can tweet…yay pic.twitter.com/5wOKzubtEj
— Mary Babers-Green (@babers_mary) July 9, 2015
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Like the Kevon Looney draftee introduction, after the formalized emcee’d event, the Warriors allowed media to ask Green questions in a scrum setting.
Here are some highlights:
“I was thinking about what to say and what is always in my mind when I think about (Green) is winning,” Myers said at the start, “It doesn’t matter where he was, what position he played. He won.”
“I want to be a part of a young group of guys who are all committed to each other. If you could see our group chat, whether it was me signing my deal, whether it was everybody talking to David Lee when the news broke the other or whether it was everybody congratulating Justin Holiday, the feeling that you get from that, I’m not sure you can get that from any other team in the NBA,” said Green. “I have some things that I want to accomplish out here in the Bay Area.”
“I love the times off the court, the times everybody don’t see, whether it’s our group chat, whether it’s our locker room, on the plane, eating meals together, that’s the stuff that I love the most, the things that you’ll never see. The times that we spend together where it’s just us. That’s no offense to our fans, that’s no offense to anybody, it’s just those times (when) it’s kind of just uncut,” Green said. “It’s fun because you have fifteen guys who are committed to each other.”
More Myers
“(Green) continues to break through the ceiling that everybody puts on him,” Myers said. “He’s made you believe more and more, his character (as well).”
“I don’t even need to say this, but if you watched us and you watched what we did, you get it and you saw what value he brought. I think everybody saw it,” Myers added. “Maybe he’s been responsible for a little bit of shift in the thinking in the league.”
“With things being recorded minute to minute, if you don’t talk for an hour, it’s enough to be perceived as a problem. Well, five years ago, nobody would even know that you took an hour and talked. BJ (Green’s agent) and I were in constant communication and it was going to get done, but we both knew it was a process. It’s funny that people perceived one day to be a long time.”
Feeling Validated With A Big Contract
Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press:
“I don’t necessarily think that this deal validates me because I don’t play basketball for money,” Green said. “I play basketball because I love the game of basketball. It’s what I’ve loved since I was 2 years old. No money is going to make me feel validated or like I belong because I signed a contract.”
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But Green admitted he still ran around his hotel after getting the deal done with Myers last week.
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“It was a great feeling, but it didn’t even compare or come close to the feeling of winning a championship. It didn’t come close,” he said. “So if anything validated me, it was that.”
On Keeping A Core Together Or Potentially Considering Other Offers
Jake Montero of SFBay.ca:
Green joked:
“Don’t tell Bob … I’d play for free.”
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“This is home for me. I came here three years ago, not really knowing what to expect. Home sick, had never been away from Michigan. I’ve adapted and this has become home for me. At no point did I feel I was ready to leave this organization.”
Green also praised, specifically, Oakland.
“It reminds me so much of Saginaw. The mentality of the people of Oakland, what I bring, and I appreciate what they bring for us each and every night. Like the parade, I said I was going to have fun, whether it was getting off the bus, running around,” Green said. “They deserved that. Those moments like that are the things that you’ll never forget in life…of being able to bring that back to the Bay Area.”
On How Things Change After Winning The Championship For The First Time
“I never imagined walking through the airport being a struggle,” Green said. “Just the respect that you get from everyone after winning the championship, it’s been incredible – and it allowed me to have a little bit of fun.”
On Staying Motivated
“Like I said before, money doesn’t motivate me, championships motivate me. ‘Ships! Not one. And I want to get multiple more, so I have something to continue to strive for. People are still on my Twitter everyday telling me I’m a bum and I’m not worth the money, so I guess I can continue to prove them wrong, right?” I love this game. My main focus has always been to win. It’s never been to get this big contract,” Green said. “Championships are what matter in this game, not the amount of money you get…I want to be one of those guys put in that category of being judged on how many championships I’m able to get. We’ve got one, but we’re not finished yet.”
On Former Coach Tom Izzo Of Michigan State University
“Him raising you into a man when you get to his program is ten times more important than what type of basketball player you become,” Green said. “He used to always tell me, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to be this energy guy, you’ve got to be this glue guy. You can’t never not play with energy.’
“I couldn’t always play with that energy, but he showed me that if I wanted to be a player, if I wanted to be successful, if I possibly wanted to one day play in the NBA that I had to always have that energy and it just started to become who I was and who I am.”
On The NBA Free Agency Circus, Namely The DeAndre Jordan Spectacle
“I was just a spectator and I’m going to continue to be a spectator,” Green said. “He’s going to get booed pretty badly (when he goes to Dallas). But, hey, that’s a part of the game. I love going to arenas and get booed.”
On The San Antonio Spurs Acquiring LaMarcus Aldridge
“It can be tough for a lot of teams to guard, him and (Tim) Duncan, together,” Green said. “I think that was a great pickup for them, for sure.”
On David Lee’s Departure
Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“I have mixed emotions,” Green said. “I kind of had this false reality in my head that he would be with us next year. For him to take the role he did with us this year, and not complain, I’m just thankful for that and for him to support me the way he did. That’s a part of that brotherhood. He has a lot left in the tank. He’ll have the opportunity to play, so I’m excited for him. Like we all told him, it sucks, but he’s a champion.”
On Trying Out For Team USA
Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group:
“I think every team needs that guy who’s going to do anything, whatever it takes, and I know I can be that guy for that group,” Green said. “You’re going to have your LeBron (James), your Steph (Curry), your Kyrie (Irving), your James Harden, your Anthony Davis. I’m not them.
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“But I don’t do what none of those guys do, and that’s why I think I can make my mark out on that team, just being that guy who’s willing to defend anybody, being that guy who’s willing to do whatever it takes for the team. If I go out there and do what I’m capable of doing and show what I bring to a team, it’s a possibility. That’s going to be my focus.”
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If nothing else, Green has his foot in the door. Two months ago, he received his first invite to the USA Basketball minicamp, set for Aug. 11-13 in Las Vegas. The camp will comprise more than 30 NBA players, and it’s likely Green’s teammates Curry and Klay Thompson will be there as well.
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Just getting the invite was a huge honor for Green. His mother, Mary Babers-Green, confirmed that “it was a very big deal” when he received it, and he made no secret that he hopes to make the most of it.
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“I do believe in myself, and I’m very confident, but I’m realistic about myself as well,” he said. “I never in a million years thought I’d be in position to even compete on the USA level again. I thought when I played in the World University Games, that was it for me. But to be in this position to be invited to USA training camp and possibly make the Olympic team, that’s now a realistic goal of mine. It’s something I really I want to do.”
On Irving’s Recent Comments About The Cavs Winning The Title If Healthy
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com:
“We all got our ‘ifs’ in life,” Green said. “If this would have happened, I would be doing this. If that would have happened, I would be doing that. But if ‘if’ was a fifth, we all would be drunk.”
On His Upcoming Goals
Along the way I’ve improved my shooting, but I’m still very streaky,” said Green. “I want to improve to the point where my shot is as consistent as it can possibly be.
“I also want to work on a few post moves. In the playoffs I went to the post a little more, but it was still just ‘bully-ball’, like just trying to bully whoever was right there to get to the rim. I want to work on a few post moves where I can take anybody to the post. There’s guys who are bigger than me, (so to) use my quickness, whether there’s guys that’s smaller than me, use my strength,” said Green. “Also like an ‘in-between’ game. I think my floater got better. It can continue to improve, whether it’s taking one dribble and pulling up instead of trying to get all the way to the rim and shoot over (Timofey) Mozgov.”
Steve Berman of Bay Area Sports Guy:
“I hate putting a number on things. I just want to be the best player I can possibly be. I have some team goals for sure. I want the team to win championships and win as many as we possibly can. I think when you start putting a number to things, that’s when you start to make a mistake. I just want to win as many championships as we possibly can over these next five years and in years after that,” Green said.
On Preparing To Face Bigger Or Stronger Opponents
“One thing I go by is, ‘You may be bigger than me, you may be stronger, maybe even faster, probably jump a little higher, but you’re not going to outwork me.’ That’s the mindset that I go with into every game,” Green said. “It’s just a matter of what they like to do and whatever it is that they like to do, I’m going to try and take that away and force them to do whatever it is that they hate doing.”
On Returning The Flag From The Parade To Its Rightful Owner
At the Warriors’ championship parade, Green actually took a fan’s flag and started waving it around. The fan, who seemed thrilled by it all and not terribly concerned with the loss of the flag, never got it back.
From Berman’s report:
“One person on Twitter had me pretty convinced that it’s him. So I’m supposed to send him another flag. I’ll do it. I’ll get it to him eventually.”
On His Mom’s Influence
“Her continuing every day, no matter what I did, telling me, ‘You’ve got to be a leader. You’ve got to be a leader. Why are you being a follower?’ Whether it’s laughing in class: ‘You’re being a follower.’ On the basketball court, getting kicked out of practice in elementary (school) by my uncle: ‘Stop being a follower, be a leader.’
“At that time, as a nine-year-old or ten-year-old or twelve, I didn’t understand what she was talking about, but as I continued to grow in life and get older, you think back to those times and I realize what she was trying to teach to me, and she’s been everything to me, with the help of my dad as well, but my mom was always – one thing she’s always told me that she’s told me to this day is, ‘Men that don’t work, don’t eat.’ Whatever it is that work is that you’ve got to get out there and do, in order to eat, do it. That’s what’s fueled me. That’s what’s pushed me this far.”
After his presser, @Money23Green took pics w/ all 150 campers at Warriors Basketball Camp. #squadgoals pic.twitter.com/hX8hmzcWgB
— Dan Martinez (@dmar) July 9, 2015
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Dray-Mom
Afterwards, we caught up with Green’s mom, who preached the “men who don’t work, don’t eat” ethic once more, and re-iterated how proud she was of her son.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area filed this report:
“He’s just authentic,” Babers-Green said. “He has to be humble. Because if he isn’t, it takes away from who he is. I don’t have to change him. He’s still Draymond. If he gets the big head, things start crumbling for him.
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“We text just about every day. There have been times when I could see maybe he was getting carried away. And I’ll text him ‘reality awaits you.’ I could see how it happens, but he’s a level-headed guy.”
However, while Draymond has called the Bay Area his new home, don’t expect her to move here from Saginaw, Michigan, any time soon. She’s quite wary of the earthquakes, and we don’t mean the soccer team!
Afterwards, Green took a picture with the kids from the camp, then Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group recorded a podcast in the weight room with Green.
Draymond could easily host this show pic.twitter.com/c4GvqAlRxq
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) July 9, 2015
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(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @babers_mary)
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