Draymond Green is one of the few players in the modern era to bring the physicality we used to see in the NBA, but it's pretty clear he goes too far, and even some older veterans agree the four-time champion has crossed the line this season.
Discussing Green on the his new podcast "The OGs," Udonis Haslem went into details about how Green had gone too far.
"Draymond, man, you're out of pocket," Haslem said on the first episode of the new show from Playmaker. "You're out of pocket. I f*** with Draymond, man. There's only so many warriors in this league, guys that are going to take that tech, going to take that foul, and protect their teammates. But we don't start that s***. We don't start it. We ain't bullies. We don't look for it. We don't initiate it. We are guys that prevent it. We are guys that protect our teammates. So, man, I got a lot of respect for Draymond man. But right now, Draymond tripping."
Haslem also suggests that Green is specifically targeting certain players who won't respond in altercations, effectively bullying.
"People think he's crazy. I think he's smart. Because he knows who he's [messing] with," Haslem said. "He choked out Gobert, he hit Nurkic. He's [messing with] people who really aren't going to do nothing back."
Green is currently under indefinite suspension following this hit to Jusuf Nurkic of the Suns:
Haslem also says it was a failure of Green when he punched Jordan Poole in practice in the 2022 preseason.
"Jordan Poole? Come on, man, a young fella. At the end of the day, we're here to guide these young fellas in the right direction. They're going to make mistakes, they're going to say crazy s***, but they're young. Can you imagine me swinging on (Tyler) Herro? I'd take a long walk off a short pier. I'd never forgive myself if I swung on Herro."
"I'm sure a lot of these young guys around the league are looking at Draymond like, yo, come on, man. We look up to you."
Haslem does point out the difficulty because of the edge that Green has brought to the Warriors, helping them win four titles.
"So right now Draymond picking and choosing who he [messing] with, and he tripping and he know he out of pocket. Hopefully, he'll tighten that s*** up. And I hear a lot of people talking about accountability, man. And I think it's a double-edged sword because when you got a guy like Draymond, you got to let him run. You got to let him be himself. You feed off that energy, you feed off that competitive nature, so guys like that can fuel you. You know what I'm saying? They can infuse your locker room, but then you got to reel his ass in and slow him down a little bit."
Haslem spent 20 years with the Heat, helping them win three titles, and was always ready to defend his teammates in altercations.
And he was willing to give the hard foul when he felt it was called for:
You can catch the new podcast "The OGs" with Haslem and Mike Miller on the Playmaker HQ YouTube channel and follow them on Instagram.
