SAN FRANCISCO – Over the past two weeks, Warriors forward Draymond Green has witnessed an advanced form of an already-potent illness sweep through the NBA. No one knows who Patient Zero for this scourge is, but everybody knows its name.
Every night, a multitude of games are decided by 15, 20 or even 30 points. Uncompetitive contests that feature anonymous rosters as stars – or even competent role players – are shut down for the season with injuries both real and imagined.
All in the name of stacking up losses in pursuit of a better chance at landing a franchise-changing draft pick that will lead to a top prospect such as AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson.
The play-in tournament was supposed to fix this, giving the ninth and 10th seeds a chance at a postseason series. But as it turns out, the prospect of being dashed to pieces by a top-two seed cannot be outweighed by the potential of a top-two pick.
Shaking his head at Chase Center’s postgame podium after the Warriors beat the tanking Kings – with no Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine – Green scoffed at the play-in.
Never shy to share his opinions on officiating, defense or anything else, Green told reporters exactly what he thought about the play-in.
“I think the play-in was made for teams not to tank, and I think that’s the part everyone forgets,” Green said. “The play-in was about making teams, through 12 or 13 (seeds) keep going … they ain’t keep going. It kind of slowed them down and then they hit the brakes.”
Well, most teams hit the brakes, but the Warriors decided it was full speed ahead. Because the Warriors – without Jimmy Butler or Steph Curry for large swaths of the year – and Blazers were the only teams on the fringe trying to play respectable hoops, that put the teams in a strange position that Green could only scoff at.
“I think it worked initially, but to have a team stuck in 10th, it’s not working,” Green said. “We could’ve lost our last 15 games and still be stuck in 10th.”
He later added that the play-in has worked for the Warriors for exactly that reason.
So if the play-in is no incentive not to tank, then what can be done?
Green advocated for using a method that has long been utilized against him.
“I get fined when I do wrong. Just fine the hell out of people,” said Green, whose career fines total more than $1 million, according to Spotrac. “We love taking money from players, so keep fining the teams. I’ve seen two fines, and we all know everybody tanking. But you’ve seen two fines.”
The NBA fined the Jazz $500,000 and the Pacers $100,000 in mid-February for personnel moves deemed “detrimental to the league” and widely perceived as willfully self-sabotaging to their respective teams.
Those fines did not deter franchises valued in the billions from continuing to lose. The Jazz (21-59) are still the worst team in the West, while the Pacers (18-61) are second-worst in the East.
Before Green dramatically stood up and left the press conference, he claimed that the league has shown itself to possess a double standard when it comes to holding teams accountable.
“Keep that same energy when it comes to teams, to officials. When it comes to everybody but players, we don’t keep that same energy,” Green said, before sarcastically remarking, “But it’s a player’s league.”