All eyes are on the Golden State Warriors heading into the 2016-17 NBA season. Good, bad or indifferent, everyone has something to say about the Dubs and their star-studded roster. Including anonymous members of the organization.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss analyzed the enigma that is Draymond Green. He went on to share some details and opinions of those around the team about Green. From his off-court antics to his on-court passion, there was a wide range of good and bad, but that’s what happens when you have Draymond on your roster. One incident saw Draymond and Klay Thompson reportedly get into it during a practice but it was mostly viewed as Draymond’s fault by those on the outside.
There was one quote that was particularly notable, coming from an anonymous Warriors executive.
By universal decree, the 2016-17 Warriors are a juggernaut. And if this juggernaut has a foundation, Green is it. Steph Curry is the reigning MVP; new acquisition Kevin Durant is one of the NBA’s greatest scorers. But multiple Warriors staffers share the opinion that Green is their most important player. Nobody replicates his set of contributions. As one team official puts it: “The guys might be frustrated by his antics, but they had an opportunity to prove themselves without him in Game 5 and they played like a bunch of [cowards].”
That quote from the anonymous team official made Klay Thompson very mad. He just wants someone to step up and attach their name to the statement they made. Especially if it’s someone who is a member of their organization.
Anthony V Slater of the Mercury News has Klay’s full quote from earlier today.
Klay Thompson was a bit grumpy this morning. He blew his tire on the way to the practice facility. “Get ready for some short answers,” he said before sitting down for an interview with reporters.
Thompson, although mistaking a Warrior “team official” for a team executive from elsewhere in the league, was ticked off about the use of coward attached to an anonymous source.
“The article pissed me off for this reason,” Thompson said. “If you call someone a coward, how are you not going to put your name on that quote? It’s easy to point at someone and call them a coward behind like a shade or a shield. But why don’t you put your name to it and then you can call us cowards? That’s fine. Tell us that. But to say we played we played like cowards and you’re not going to quote the guy who said it, that’s weak to me, man. How you gonna quote Mo (Speights) and not anyone else? That actually got under my skin. (You are) gonna call us cowards and not put your name on the quote? You know what I mean? You’re not gonna quote who said it? Get out of here. That made me mad. We played our hearts out that whole playoffs and you’re gonna call us cowards and not put your name on it. Get out of here.”
And Courtney Cronin of the Mercury News has a video of a very animated Klay Thompson making this statement.
Klay Thompson's biggest gripe is the anonymity with the "coward" quote directed at how GSW played in the Finals. pic.twitter.com/VUvkwETUKE
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 21, 2016
The seeds of dissension have been planted and teams around the NBA are going to take notice of this as the first moment of separation among the NBA’s elite.
