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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 4, 2016Draymond GreenOakland, California: Practice Day Q. Before asking you about Game 2, obviously the big story in the last 12 hours or so is the passing of Muhammad Ali. Any thoughts on his impact on the sports world let alone the world? Did you have a chance to meet with him or interact with him in any way? DRAYMOND GREEN: No, he's one guy that I've always wanted to meet, and it sucks that I never got the opportunity. I'm definitely praying for his family. It's a tough time. Obviously, we all look at it and say, man, the impact that he had on the sports world. He stood for way more than just having an impact on the sports world, though. He impacted everything. I have the utmost respect for him. Obviously, he was way before my time, but when you study history, he's right there in it all. It sucks just to lose a guy like that. But he did what he needed to do on this earth, and he definitely left his mark. Like I said, a guy that I have the utmost respect for and wanted to meet badly. Q. We often talk about with athletes trying to compare somebody from today from somebody from yesteryear. It seems like in sports and in life there are not many compared to Ali. DRAYMOND GREEN: There's not. When you're talking about being the greatest ever, he told you he was the greatest ever, and was going to let you know every day that he was the greatest ever. But yet, he still had the respect of so many because of what he stood for. And what it was that he stood for, he never cracked, he never wavered, never went away from it. It was always about that. You don't see that often. Q. I saw that you were working with Steph's trainer yesterday. Can you talk a little bit about your partnership with him? DRAYMOND GREEN: Working with Steph's trainer, Bruce [Fraser, Golden State player development coach]? Hey Q! Q! [Calls over to Fraser] BRUCE FRASER: I'm nervous about this one. I'm being summoned over. DRAYMOND GREEN: I was asked the question that she saw yesterday I was working with Steph's trainer, Bruce. BRUCE FRASER: What's that mean? DRAYMOND GREEN: You the man. BRUCE FRASER: I thought I was your trainer. DRAYMOND GREEN: I got the chance to work with the guy. My man. BRUCE FRASER: We go way back. We've got Michigan State in our blood. DRAYMOND GREEN: No, obviously Q's one of those guys who it's always good to get his perspective on the game. He doesn't say much all the time, but he's kind of one of those guys that just sits back and observes. Usually it's coming from a way different angle than the rest of the coaching staff, but it's always something that's helping. Obviously, I shoot with him every game day, and it's pretty much been that way since before he became known as Steph's guy. So we go back a little bit. Q. No one expects Steph and Klay to shoot again 8 for 27. What do you expect from them? DRAYMOND GREEN: I think we have to approach the game like they're going to shoot 8 for 27. We can't come out saying, Oh, Steph's going to be hot, Klay's going to be hot. We've got to come out and approach the game the same way we did, with a defensive mentality. If get it done on the defensive end and keep our turnovers low again, regardless of who is shooting bad, we give ourselves a chance to win the game. Q. What do you bring to the team when they do play like that? DRAYMOND GREEN: Just try to do everything. It's not like, Oh, man, those guys are struggling with their shot; I need to try to knock shots down and take over offensively. It's nothing like that. We have a bunch of guys that can score the basketball, and we just trust our offense and trust in each other. Q. You of course didn't have your best series against the Thunder. How are you feeling now? DRAYMOND GREEN: I'm feeling good. It wasn't my best series against the Thunder. But the last few games of that series, I started back to be myself. That's pretty much it. But right now, I feel good, feel confident and excited about what's ahead. Q. It's easy to say Strength in Numbers, but what makes you guys so good when the opposing team takes away the first, second and third option? DRAYMOND GREEN: There are a lot of guys on this team that can start in other places. I think our general manager, Bob Myers, deserves a lot of credit. When you look at our game we won the other day, that's a testament to his work because of the team he put together. I think a lot of credit goes to him, and he's a guy who doesn't really get any credit at all. But I think he's one of the main pieces of why this thing is so successful. Like I said, [Thursday's] game was a Bob Myers win. Everything that he's done to put this team together, that's what paid off for us at the end of the day. Guys are true professionals, guys stay ready. They don't know when their number's going to be called, but they stay ready and embrace those moments. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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