OKLAHOMA CITY – When Draymond Green, usually a willing spokesman, locked up his tongue Saturday morning, it was as if his metaphorical megaphone was passed along to Warriors teammate Andrew Bogut.
The veteran center expressed both amusement and slight dismay with the seemingly endless critiques leveled upon the Warriors, who happened to be winning at a record pace as they prepare to face the Thunder Saturday night.
“They obviously want to get in the media and have their names heard again,” Bogut said after morning shootaround at Chesapeake Energy Arena. “I just hope I’m not a bitter old man in my 50s and 60s.”
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SIGN UP HERE Several former players have in recent days promised hypothetical victories over the defending champions, who are 52-5 in their quest to repeat. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson stated his belief that opponents make it too easy for Stephen Curry to excel. Comments from “The Big O” seemed to ignite another round of hypothetical flak.
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Former Warrior Stephen Jackson said the “We Believe” team would knock off the current Warriors. Former player Cedric Ceballos claimed the 1990s Suns would have taken out today’s Warriors despite those Phoenix teams advancing past the second round only once in that decade.
“Every generation says the next generation is softer and slower and not as smart and not as physical,” Bogut said. “I hope I’m not one of those guys that does that. It’s unfortunate. I respect all eras; every era brought something different.
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“I respect everybody because I know what it takes to get to this league, whatever era you played in.”
Bogut saved his most stinging reply for the “journalists” that chase down opinions from previous basketball figures wanting to feel relevant and timely once more.
“It’s just funny that you can go and ask anybody – a 12th man on a championship team from 1965 – and some ‘journalist’ is going to print the article,” Bogut said. “It’s easy pickings for journalists because they can get a headline with it.
“We don’t really care about it that much. It’s starting to get funny now, because they’re just asking random people, from random teams, that didn’t even win championships. It’s like, ‘Ah, cool, great opinion.’”