‘None of these teams scare me’: Draymond Green predicts another championship

The Golden State Warriors are in 10th place, but that didn’t stop their power forward from declaring his team was heading for another title.

Draymond Green has been vocal about how much adding Jimmy Butler helps the Golden State Warriors. So much so that before Sunday’s All-Star Game, Green declared that the Warriors would win another title.

When asked about the big trades that shocked the NBA at the trade deadline, Green chose to talk about Jimmy Butler III, an addition he thought changed the Warriors’ entire trajectory.

“Since [Butler] arrived, we’ve gone into every game thinking and believing that we’re going to win... He’s brought back that belief, and I think we’re going to win the championship,” said Green. As the TNT panel reacted with surprise, Adam Lefkoe asked Green to repeat himself. He clarified his comment instead.

“I’m sorry, I said I think we’re going to win a championship, but I lied,” Green said. “We are going to win the championship.”

The crowd outside the Chase Center roared as Green went on to describe how he and Jimmy Butler were both “alphas,” but “As the alpha that I am,” Green explained that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fall in behind another alpha like Butler, or Steph Curry.

It’s going to be a tough road. If the season ended today, the Warriors would be looking at a play-in tournament rematch with the Sacramento Kings. But they are just 3.5 games behind the 6th-place Los Angeles Clippers, who currently hold the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West. Green acknowledged the difficulty, calling the next two months for Golden State a “27-game playoffs.”

What’s the reason the Warriors have a shot at their fifth title of the Curry-Green Era? Parity.

“I don’t believe any of these teams are that great...None of these teams scare me,” Green explained. “And you know why you aren’t seeing that (scary) team? Because you’re about to start watching them.”

While Green’s mouth is indeed writing checks that ultimately, Steph Curry will have to cash, the bold declaration would have been unthinkable for the pre-Butler Warriors. Besides, it’s not like other NBA teams don’t already want to beat Draymond Green’s ass when they play him, 13 seasons into his career. This is purely motivation for himself and the team.

And if the Warriors somehow do win it all in June, this will be a legendary moment of irrational confidence, on par with Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series, and falling just short of Jason Terry before the 2010-11 season.

Televised hot takes fade, but tattoos of the Larry O’Brien Trophy are forever.