LOS ANGELES — Forward Draymond Green, who recently agreed to a $100 million contract extension to stay with the Golden State Warriors, took exception Wednesday to anyone who thinks the former world champions will struggle to compete in 2019-20.
“I’ve heard people say we’re not gonna make the playoffs. That’s crazy to me,” Green told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on The Jump. “I mean, that’s just, like, that’s total disrespect, but no different than the disrespect we’ve all been getting for years.”
Las Vegas odds for the Warriors to make the playoffs aren’t as good as they were when Golden State won NBA titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018, but Green is thinking positively even when fans don’t consider them favorites heading into the season.
“I like it,” said Green, who has been with the Warriors for those past three titles. “You know, being the underdog. It’s been a while since we been the underdog. But it brings that underdog chip back, and I miss that chip.”
Meanwhile, Joseph Tsai plans to buy the remainder of Brooklyn Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov and become sole owner of the NBA franchise, the New York Post reported.
When Tsai purchased 49 percent of the team last year for $1 billion, he locked in the right to buy the remaining 51 percent before the 2021-22 season for $1.35 billion, according to the report. Tsai, 55, is the co-founder of the Chinese shopping website Alibaba. He also owns the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
The combined $2.35 billion transaction would be the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise in the United States. David Tepper paid $2.2 billion for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers last year, the same amount Tilman Fertitta spent for the NBA’s Houston Rockets in 2017. — Reuters
