Golden State Warriors News: Ex-All-Star Unpacks How League Views Draymond Green

All-Defensive Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green has long courted controversy, thanks to his aggressive play on both ends of the hardwood. He's already been suspended twice this season (for two separate instances, for five and 12 games apiece). Just last night, in an eventual 113-92 blowout win over the Miami Heat, Green had another intensely physical play, this time against Heat combo guard Patty Mills:

Green's play may not have stood out as much in a prior NBA era. Former Seattle SuperSonics All-Star small forward McDaniel addressed how the league perceives Green's physical play during an extended chat with ex-journeyman NBA big Tim Thomas and longtime sports broadcaster Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on the No Nonsense With Tim Thomas & Scoop B Podcast.

"Well the difference is, Draymond is the aggressor and nobody's been aggressive to him," McDaniel said. "The bully's been bullying everybody and nobody is bullying the bully. People get a lot of, 'What did he say? What y'all gonna do?' That's how me and [Charles] Oakley got into fights. When they pushed me, I've already been in trouble with Rod Thorn all the time. And this time, when he said, 'Whatcha gonna do?' then it turned into a street mentality."

"And so, Draymond is going to keep doing it until somebody smacks him in the mouth. And I ain't mad at him. I'd rather watch him foul the heck outta somebody than just not do nothing. A lot of guys don't do anything and I know the rules have changed so dramatically that... think about my first year -- I fought two of my teammates," McDaniel revealed. "I fought Reggie King like, my second day of practice. I felt like that he was trying to punk me; he was an OG player about 10-11 years in the league. I was a lot quicker than him and he was holding me and me and Bernie Bickerstaff got in an argument and I was like, 'Y'all see this motherf---er holding me and y'all not calling it!' He told me, 'Rook! Shut up and get open!' and so, I got OPEN. I fired 2-3 shots at his head and we got in a big fight that day, you know?"

McDaniel, like Green, would go on to welcome physical play on the floor throughout his 12-year NBA career, albeit while normally playing along the wing. In fairness, he did belong to a different era, which was more accepting of hard fouls than today's league.

"So when I was watching Magic [Johnson] and them on that Showtime series [an excellent two-season HBO scripted show called 'Winning Time'] and Magic said, 'Ain't nobody gonna punk me!' and that's what I was telling them! I'll give you Al Wood's number right now. And he'll tell you on that second day of practice that I said to them, 'Y'all motherf---ers ain't gonna punk me!' I'm from South Carolina," McDaniel said. "I'm from Edisto, a little section in South Carolina [where] people had wooden stoves and used coal to cook on. No central air, no central heat... you ain't gonna do me like that!"

Green has been fairly productive on both ends of the hardwood (yes, including as a jump shooter) when he has been available in between suspensions. The 6'6" forward/center, a four-time All-Star, is averaging 8.5 points on .485/.387/.754 shooting splits, 7.3 rebounds, six assists, 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 steals a night.

The MSU product's Warriors are currently 37-34, good for just tenth place in the Western Conference, with the 36-35 Houston Rockets right behind them. The team could miss the postseason entirely. To survive, it will need all of Green's leadership defensively.