Grizzlies' Taylor Jenkins reacts to Draymond Green's 'softie' claim

11/20/2024 02:12 AM

Draymond Green has made plenty of enemies throughout the course of his career, and as long as he’s active, his physicality on the court and combative nature off of it will continue to draw the ire of his opponents. Most recently, Green landed on hot water with the Memphis Grizzlies after he was (belatedly) called for a flagrant foul for tripping Zach Edey last Friday.

With Edey now out week-to-week with an ankle sprain, the Grizzlies are understandably upset at Green, as he may have set in motion the rookie’s injury. Head coach Taylor Jenkins called out the officials for not immediately reviewing Green’s foul against Edey, but the Golden State Warriors forward, never one to back down from a fight, pushed back, calling Jenkins a “softie” and that he’s “too emotional” for complaining at this turn of events.

Jenkins, however, simply decided to take the high road in his postgame presser following the Grizzlies’ 122-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. He chose not to fan the flames of the simmering beef against Green, as it would not result in much benefit anyway.

“I love my basketball team and I can't wait to compete tomorrow,” Jenkins said, via ClutchPoints beat reporter Chris Dodson.

Taylor Jenkins responds to Draymond Green…#GrindCitypic.twitter.com/oPTo00tGGg

— Dodson (@DoingItDodson) November 20, 2024

There’s no sense in fighting fire with fire whenever Green is involved. It’s clear that the Warriors forward is simply looking to incite chaos at every turn, and the Grizzlies head coach is not falling for the bait — especially when doing so won’t change what happened.

Calling Green out also doesn’t seem to have any effect; for better or for worse, the fiery forward is unabashedly himself, and it’s not like he’s going to change his ways if Jenkins snaps back at him. If anything, he will only feel more justified in his ways if he elicits a major blow-up from the Grizzlies head coach.

Any head coach simply wants what’s best for their team. For Jenkins, all he could do is look out for his players’ well-being and look to control what they can control, and that is to prepare the Grizzlies in their bid to return to winning ways.

Grizzlies’ injury luck still hasn’t turned

The major absence from the Grizzlies at the moment is Ja Morant’s; Morant continues to deal with his hip injuries, although there is at least hope in the air that he can return to the court soon. But on Tuesday, Memphis was also missing Zach Edey (ankle), Marcus Smart (illness), and GG Jackson II (foot), and then Vince Williams Jr. had to exit their loss to the Nuggets early with an ankle injury of his own.

The Grizzlies don’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves or engage in a war of words with Draymond Green, though. They will be back in action on Wednesday, as they will be hosting the floundering Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night at 8:00 PM E.T. That may be a good game for Memphis to return to winning ways, as the 76ers have been in absolute shambles to begin the season.

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