Draymond Green says Warriors 'lucky' to have Chris Paul, even if he's 'an (expletive)'
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green may have met his match.
When discussing new teammate (and former nemesis) Chris Paul during media day on Monday, Green acknowledged that Paul is "kind of an (expletive)," much like himself.
“If you’ve ever watched Chris compete, he’s kind of an (expletive),” Green said. “He may say the same thing about me, and that’s OK. But he’s also one of the most competitive guys that I’ve played against over my 11 years in this league. I’m also an extremely competitive guy, and I’m not backing down from anyone. He’s not backing down from anyone.”
Green has had a contentious relationship with Paul, who was a rival while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers (2011–2017), Houston Rockets (2017–2019) and Phoenix Suns (2020–2023). Both are known for their strong, polarizing personalities and "a lot of things were said here and there," Paul said Monday. During a podcast appearance in 2020, Green directly said, "I don't like CP at all. Like we don't have a good relationship at all."
But after Paul was traded from the Wizards to the Warriors for Jordan Poole this offseason, Green said he's gotten to know a different side to Paul and admires his "dedication to winning."
"What I do know is in spending time with these guys over the last month and a half and getting together and spending time together, the No. 1 goal from everybody here would be to win," Green said. "When that is the No. 1 goal of everybody that walks into this building, everything else, you figure it out.”
Paul added that he and Green hashed out their differences: "With (Green), we’ve been the craziest of competitors against each other for a long time... I tend to deal with things a lot more privately, so we talked, went to lunch and had a great conversation."
Green said he considers himself "lucky" to learn from Paul.
“It’s Chris Paul; he’s one of the smartest players to play this game, so he’s going to have some things, say some things, see some things that quite frankly nobody else may see or say," Green said. " I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to learn from him."
Steph Curry said having both Paul and Green as alpha leaders will help the team in the long run.
"If those two guys can focus that energy on the court when it comes to games, doing exactly that, making everybody hate them and making us love them, I know they can keep each other accountable to that energy, as well," Curry said. "That's going to make a huge difference and give them an edge and give us an edge."