Cavs Player Reportedly Sucker-Punched Draymond Green at LeBron's Party
Can’t we all just get along?
Sure, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson are well-acquainted. After all, they’ve spent the last four summers playing against each other in the NBA Finals.
Of course, Green and the Warriors have won three of those championships, but Thompson did earn a ring (and a five-year/$82 million contract) from the battles.
At last month’s ESPY Awards — you know, that feel-good, high-fiving love fest where the best athletes in the world celebrate their accomplishments — ESPN held an exclusive party after the ceremonies. Green and Thompson attended as guests of LeBron James.
Apparently Thompson wasn’t in a celebrating — or forgiving mood.
You may remember that when the Cavs center received a technical foul in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Green mocked him by clapping.
Between games, the controversial Warrior made it clear that he was not afraid of the much bigger Thompson, telling the assembled media, “I can meet him in the streets any day.”
Draymond Green on Tristan Thompson: "I can meet him in the streets any day" https://t.co/q5UgaTFdXK pic.twitter.com/xIiFKepI1u
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) June 2, 2018
Then, as Golden State was celebrating its four-game sweep of the Cavs, Green refused to shake the hand of Thompson, telling the fallen Cav, “We ain’t cut from the same cloth.”
Fox Sports reporter Jason McIntyre said that when Green tried to apologize following the ESPYs, Thompson was having none of it. McIntyre claims Thompson took a swing at Green.
https://twitter.com/jasonrmcintyre/status/1024343457865719808
“Man, that wasn’t no fight,” another witness told Marcus Thompson. “It was much ado about nothing.”
It should be noted that according to all accounts, Tristan Thompson — not Green — was the aggressor.
Given some of Green’s antics, that may be a bit of a surprise.
But between the Kevin Durant-CJ McCollum feud, and now whatever this is is being called, it’s been a summer of player-on-player hate in the NBA, something you can be sure Commissioner Adam Silver is aware of, and not thrilled by.
The good news for Thompson, of course, is that barring a miracle, the LeBron-less Cavs won’t have to worry about facing Green and the two-time defending champion Warriors in The Finals for a fifth straight year.
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