Draymond Green will never change.
No matter if he’s in a game, on the sidelines, or at practice -- The Warriors’ four-time All-Star forward is going to talk some trash.
As one of the more notorious trash talkers in the league, Draymond was in no way going to let an injury to his back affect his mouth.
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After missing the last 23 games (24 if you include the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in which he played seven seconds before leaving the contest), the 31-year-old is making steady progress towards a return.
On Wednesday, Green practiced in full with the Warriors, including some team scrimmaging.
And the trash-talking on the court is already back.
“He played 3-on-3 today at our practice,” coach Steve Kerr said on 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” on Wednesday. “[He] played with Klay [Thompson] and James Wiseman, Juan [Toscano-Anderson], Chris Chiozza, Moses Moody, so we had a really good three-on-three workout. And Draymond looked great, moving really well, healthy, confident, as you might expect even talking a little trash. Who knew?”
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“But we’ve missed that, we miss that trash-talking. It feels great to have him in the gym and it’s great to see him looking so good. Everything is going really well, rehab-wise, and we expect him back for sure in the coming weeks.”
Of course, this doesn’t and shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Kerr recently told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Grant Liffmann that he ranks Draymond “near the top” of the all-time trash-talkers list.
And even though the league is aware of his heckling abilities on the court, Kerr said Green is even more terrifying from the sidelines.
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“Draymond is relentless on the sidelines,” Kerr told Liffmann. “I think especially when he’s not playing. He just needs to be engaged and involved in the game. So he will start picking on some poor guy out there, literally a couple of times I’ve turned to my coaches and said ‘Why is Draymond picking on that guy? Poor guy, he doesn’t deserve it’. But Draymond just needs to be involved. He loves it.”
If you’re the Warriors, who have lost six of their last eight games, this is exciting news. Their defensive anchor, veteran leader and elite trash-talker is weeks away from returning to the hardwood.