What's up with Draymond Green's infatuation with the Timberwolves?

Maybe Green's infatuation with ripping on Minnesota has ties to his long-running feud with Rudy Gobert?

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Feb 19, 2024 9:49 AM EST

Draymond Green doesn't believe in the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The enigmatic star for the Golden State Warriors was a panelist on TNT's alternate broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday and he had some things to say about the Wolves.

After Karl-Anthony Towns reached 40 points (he wound up scoring 50), Green chimed in with a cheap shot: "This is like the old Minnesota days. KAT got 40, they down 20."

For the record, Towns has scored 40+ points 13 times in regular season games and the Timberwolves are 7-6 in those games – and they haven't lost any of those games by 20 points. In fact, all six losses are by a combined 22 points.

That was a well-timed joke but Green's real feelings about Minnesota leaked at a different point in the broadcast after Charles Barkley said he thinks the Wolves would lose to the New Orleans Pelicans in a playoff series.

"I think a lot of people going to beat Minnesota. That's just my opinion," Green said, adding that he's only "sold" on Anthony Edwards and Kyle Anderson.

Green's disbelief in the Timberwolves may ultimately be warranted if Minnesota comes up short in the postseason. But it's a bit odd considering other NBA stars, including Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum and Lakers star Anthony Davis, raved about how good the Wolves are during their All-Star Weekend media sessions.

Minnesota is 2-0 against the Warriors this season and with just 27 games left on the regular season schedule they lead the Western Conference with a record of 39-16, 1.5 games clear of second place Oklahoma City.

It would take more than the Golden Gate Bridge for the Warriors to cross the gap between that exists between them and the Timberwolves. The Warriors enter the stretch run of the season at 27-26, good for 10th place in the West and 11 games behind Minnesota.

Maybe Green's infatuation with ripping on Minnesota has ties to his long-running feud with Rudy Gobert, which reached a boiling point in November when Green put Gobert in a headlock and was suspended five games.

"I have empathy for him," Gobert told ESPN's Tim McMahon in December after Green was suspended indefinitely for smacking Jusuf Nurkic in the head. "You see somebody that’s not well inside and suffering. You take away the game and all that, and you want somebody to be well and be able to do what we do every night and compete and be happy."