How long will it take for Draymond Green to get over the Golden State Warriors’ epic NBA Finals letdown?
Roughly forever.
Speaking with reporters as a member of Team USA basketball, Green indicated that he won’t soon forget about Golden State blowing its 3-1 series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers, per ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk:
“That will never wear off,” Green said, even as he was proud to be introduced with the rest of the 2016 USA Men’s Basketball Olympic squad at a youth clinic in Harlem. “We had an opportunity to win a championship. That never goes away. [But] you got to move on.”
Golden State’s loss has to stick with Green more than anyone else on the roster—at least to some extent. If not for him whacking LeBron James in the groin at the end of Game 4, maybe the Finals end differently. He wouldn’t have been suspended for Game 5, the Warriors would have enjoyed all the momentum and, playing at home, they might have closed out their second straight title before the Cavaliers ever had a chance to experience hope.
That’s something that sticks with you, as a player, fan, coach, whatever. The NBA Finals were literally the Warriors’ to lose more than they were the Cavaliers’ to win. No one saw that collapse coming.
To complicate matters, Green, along with Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson, is now suiting up alongside Kyrie Irving, who hit the championship-clinching shot over Stephen Curry in Game 7, as a member of Team USA. That first encounter had to be awkward.
Ah, well. The Warriors will have a chance to avenge their implosion next season. They might even get some early redemption by poaching Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency.
