Curry defends Green, Warriors after 'ridiculous' reports of discord
When there's a team that looks as infallible as this year's Golden State Warriors, it's natural to look for any little crack in the veneer, any bit of vulnerability one can find.
So NBA fans outside the Bay Area would be forgiven for latching onto a peak-behind-the-curtain story from ESPN's Ethan Strauss earlier this week, which suggested it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the team that's gone 140-24 with two Western Conference crowns and an NBA title over the last two years.
Strauss' story focused mainly on Draymond Green, whose tempestuousness, volatility, and demanding nature reportedly rubbed some teammates and coaches the wrong way during the Warriors' historic (and ultimately crushing) 2015-16 campaign.
Kevin Durant's stunning decision to join the 73-win juggernaut that had just knocked his Oklahoma City Thunder out of the West finals in a seven-game epic only turned up the volume on the Warriors scrutiny.
But for all the external noise, Steph Curry says the locker room is pretty well-insulated.
"Honestly, none of that stuff has crept in," the reigning two-time MVP told USA Today's Sam Amick. "We have to respond. Obviously the article about Draymond, we all thought it was ridiculous and kind of looking through a keyhole at somebody's life that you don't really know about."
Curry wasn't the only Warrior to take exception to the article. Klay Thompson, who was cited as a player particularly vexed by Green's behavior, was distraught - though, curiously, not over the depiction of his relationship with his teammate. Instead, Thompson took issue with an anonymous quote from a team official saying the Warriors had "played like a bunch of cowards" in Green's absence in Game 5 of this year's Finals.
Whatever the perception, Curry insists that his courtside view of the Warriors' showtime act reveals a healthy team.
"We see every single day what goes on, what a guy like Draymond brings to the table for us, how he makes us better, how KD does that for us, what Klay does for us, all the way down the list," Curry said.
"And we appreciate everybody's role. We appreciate what our common goal is. When we get back in the locker room, and practice, and when we're by ourselves, the mood is pretty solid, something that I'm pretty confident will allow us to have maturity when it comes to the noise around us and how we handle it and not letting that affect how we play on the court and how we see each other and let that get in the way. I'm going to do my part in trying to lead that charge, and make sure it's all about basketball."