Jeff Chiu / Associated Press
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green highlighted the double standard of how players are treated when they request a switch compared to when a team decides to seat a player indefinitely while waiting to switch, as is now the case with pivot Andre Drummond Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jason Dumas of KRON provided Green’s full comments on Monday night, in which he described Drummond’s situation as “bulls – t”:
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst reported on Monday that Cavs decided to move on with Jarrett Allen as a full-time center pivot and did not think it was fair for Drummond to have him playing for limited minutes, so the decision was made to dismiss him until a deal be found.
Green pointed out how acceptable this is, but when a player like James Harden wants to leave and the team initially disagrees with the decision, the player must attend all training sessions and play every game or he becomes the target of extreme ridicule.
Harden missed the start of the training camp with the Houston Rockets before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in mid-January as part of a four-team blockbuster.
Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff considered the decision to place Drummond as “the best for everyone”.
“Obviously, none of us wanted to get to that point,” Bickerstaff he told reporters. “I think you can let ‘Dre speak for himself, but we had a good relationship. He liked Cleveland here. So it wasn’t something that was easily decided. Obviously, we felt the same way about’ Dre.”
Allen’s arrival at the Cavaliers, who came as part of the Harden trade, was somewhat uncomfortable because of Drummond’s presence. Something had to give way, and now it happened with Cleveland deciding to move on with a new starting center.
The biggest problem is that the NBA’s negotiation deadline is not until March 25, so Drummond can spend up to six weeks waiting behind the scenes if a deal isn’t found quickly.
Green’s point is certainly fair. Front offices and players are viewed through a different lens when it comes to this type of business situation. Changing the dynamics of how teams and players are viewed is an uphill battle.