Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green didn’t hold back when responding to Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and big man Zach Edey after they called him out for tripping the Memphis rookie center on Friday.
“You got janky Taylor Jenkins, who’s a softie. … Bro, this is Game 11 (of the season), you’re runnin’ to the media crying about a foul,” Green said Tuesday on his podcast.
“Guess what you just taught your 7-foot-3 rookie? How to be emotional and run to the media talking about a foul. We big men, you don’t run to the media talking about a foul. He’s supposed to protect Ja Morant, you’re setting him up to where Ja Morant’s going to be protecting him.”
Green also questioned Edey’s toughness, adding that he expects other NBA players to test the two-time Naismith Player of the Year.
“He’s big enough to possibly have fooled people that he could be a little tough, and now nobody believes you,” Green said. “Now, Joel Embiid gonna try to put his chest into the stanchion just to see. Like, ‘Huh, I think he might be a little soft.'”
Green hooked his elbow around Edey’s foot to cause the rookie to fall to the court during the third quarter of Friday’s contest. Refs assessed the Warriors veteran with a transition take foul, but the NBA upgraded it to a flagrant 1 the following day.
Edey said postgame that the foul ‘definitely wasn’t a basketball play.’ Jenkins expressed his disappointment that the incident wasn’t reviewed during the game.
Edey’s considered week-to-week after suffering an ankle sprain Sunday against the Denver Nuggets.
The Warriors and Grizzlies face off on Dec. 19.
