Draymond Green bashes Phoenix Suns, isn’t entirely wrong
Vocal big man, Draymond Green, took time to bash the Phoenix Suns for putting his new teammate, Marquese Chriss, in a poor situation. He’s mostly wrong, but not entirely.
After Marquese Chriss put up eight points and four rebounds, including a monstrous dunk, for the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers, never-shy Draymond Green took the opportunity to bash the Phoenix Suns.
"“I don’t think there was ever a doubt [Chriss] was a legitimate NBA player…I just think he’s been in some pretty tough situations. No one ever blames the situation, it’s always the kid. No one ever blames these [expletive] franchises.”"
In case there was any doubt he was referring to the Phoenix Suns, he went on to call them out by name:
"“No Phoenix writer is going to bash the Phoenix Suns, but’s be frank about it, when he was there the organization was terrible. Everything was going wrong. But he got blamed like he was the problem. When he left, ain’t nothing go right.”"
There is a lot to unpack here. First, what Green got right.
Like Green said, the Phoenix Suns as an organization, have been undeniably [expletive] in recent years. It just has. It has gone through five coaches in as many years, blown draft pick after draft pick after draft pick, and made an abundance of other questionable personnel decisions.
ESPN detailed the organization’s dysfunction at length back in March. Take a look at their article if you care to dive into the weeds, (or should I say poison ivy?), but there is no need to re-litigate the history here. It is safe to say it all stems from the top.
However, the well-known fact that Suns owner (or, with the help of Draymond Green, what the league sometimes calls governor), Robert Sarver, runs a [expletive] franchise is about the extent of truth surrounding Green’s assessment.
Most notably, Phoenix Suns writers bash the Phoenix Suns all the time.
A quick Google search will confirm that, but Valley of the Suns featured an article calling for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to seize and sell the Phoenix Suns.
Draymond Green is a player that defends other players with to the extreme. To a certain point, he should.
There are a few individual feuds here and there, but NBA players are rightly quick to back each other up against perceived slights from the league or franchise executives.
However, casting all the blame on the Phoenix Suns for Marquese Chriss’s career up to this point is a reach, at best.
What about the Houston Rockets or the Cleveland Cavaliers? Chriss spent time with both teams after his departure from Phoenix, but were left off Draymond’s [expletive] list. Maybe he blames the Suns for those teams not keeping him around too.
Look. There is no doubt Suns have been a substandard organization in recent years, but Marquese Chriss scoring eight points in a preseason game with his third team since leaving Phoenix is not proof of that.
If writers get flack for overreacting to preseason performances, then Draymond Green deserves flack too.
It is true Chriss came into the league as a young kid who was drafted primarily on potential. Not completely unlike Deandre Ayton, the Suns put a lot of pressure on him to be great early, an unfair expectation on a 19-year-old kid, no matter where he was drafted.
Unfortunately, the NBA is unfair sometimes. So, after two years of Chriss’s potential not progressing into a promising trajectory, the team had to let him go.
Next. Suns' projected starters had a bad preseason. dark
Most Suns fans would agree they want nothing for the best for Chriss.
Maybe Green is completely right. Maybe Chriss is a budding star who will help lead the Golden State Warriors to another championship.
If so, the many Phoenix Suns writers Green referenced will be happy to eat their words.
It will just be another piece of evidence the Phoenix Suns really do run a [expletive] franchise.