Draymond Green scoffs at idea that both he and Rondo are baiting each other: "Draymond ain't trying to bait no one" pic.twitter.com/DJI1lGfU63
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 5, 2018
Friday night the second round series between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans took a new turn when the Pelicans blew out the Warriors for the first time in the series, but the Draymond Green vs. Rajon Rondo beef continued right where it left off in Oakland.
Multiple times during the first two games, the two wily veterans bumped egos and got into some extra-curricular posturing after a play went dead.
One time during a Draymond free throw, Rondo attempted to give Green a high five after a miss. At another time between two Green free throws, Rajon Rondo took the basketball and wiped the sweat from his face on it before returning the ball to the official.
Rajon Rondo wiping his sweat all over the ball before Draymond attempted his second free throw gotta be the pettiest thing ive ever seen ? pic.twitter.com/AoKkBPAXJr
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) May 2, 2018
Friday was no different. During the first quarter, a play went dead and Rondo went to get up a practice three-pointer. Green continued to play defense through the whistle and the two had to be separated.
Later in the game, cameras caught Rondo stepping on Green’s foot as the Warriors forward walked across the court between plays. After the game a reporter asked Green about interactions with Rondo, prefacing his question by saying the two have been, “getting into it.” Green was not amused.
“How many times I walked up to him?” Green asked the reporter, who didn’t immediately respond. “Alright so I haven’t gotten into it with him then.”
“What have those exchanges been like?” the reporter then asked. “You said you’ve seen what they’re doing from a mile away. Do you feel like both of you are trying to bait each other?”
“No, I don’t have to bait Rondo. I get nothing out of trying to bait Rondo at anything. That does nothing for me. Once again, when have I went up and tried to bait him? Y’all hate the storyline of someone trying to bait me, huh? I just gotta be involved, like, ‘Oh, Draymond’s doing this…’ At some point, somebody gotta tell the truth. It ain’t Draymond this time.
“I’ve baited a lot of guys, tried to bait a lot of guys. Succeeded quite a bit, sometimes failed. I ain’t trying to bait nobody. At some point, somebody gotta tell the truth. I know that’s not quite the DNA these days, people telling the truth. But at some point, y’all got to tell the truth. Draymond ain’t trying to bait nobody. I’m chilling, playing basketball. I look forward to y’all telling the truth one day. Maybe it won’t happen. I ain’t expecting it. But I look forward to it.”
After Draymond spoke so strongly on the issue, Rondo responded. “I don’t try to bait him into anything. It’s just he talks a lot of ish.”
Rajon Rondo on Draymond Green theorizing that Rondo was baiting him, not the other way around: "That's his game. I don't try to bait him. He talks a lot of ish." pic.twitter.com/dHflty9OPQ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 5, 2018