Draymond Green liked LeBron James signing with Lakers, says that Warriors aren’t worried about them

Draymond Green has one of the NBA’s loudest mouths, as the versatile, do-it-all forward is like the real-life manifestation of what would happen if you combined LaVar Ball’s braggadocio with the skills of an actually good basketball player.

And because Green’s resume as a world-renowned irritant is unimpeachable at this point, it might have been a surprise to some to see him say some genuinely nice things about LeBron James and his decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers this summer.

But Green has finally chimed in on the move, and he was mostly complimentary of it in a chat with Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated:

“That (James going to the Lakers) is great. He was able to make a decision he wanted to make regardless of whatever anyone thought. To see someone make that kind of decision is always exciting to see.”

Players are almost always going to say that they’re happy about other players taking agency over their own decisions and choosing where they want to go, regardless of the basketball ramifications of it, because it is better for all players long-term if their colleagues exercise their collectively bargained power.

Still this wouldn’t be the real Draymond Green if he went the whole interview being nice, and he also made it clear part of the reason he’s fine with James’ move is that he isn’t worried about the basketball ramifications of it, and he says the rest of the Warriors aren’t either.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said a few weeks ago that he was too busy worrying about his own team to think about James joining the Lakers, but Green took things further and told Spears that the Warriors just don’t need to worry about anyone:

“Teams worry about us. We don’t worry about nobody. We are the champs. Why do we have to worry about anybody? They have to worry about us. They say we are ruining the league. I love it!”

This is Green at his NBA troll God best, and he’s probably not lying. He and the Warriors have beaten James’ teams in the NBA Finals for the last two years and only narrowly lost three years ago after their win four years prior, so he and the rest of Golden State don’t really have a reason to worry, at least not until the Lakers give them a reason to do so.

The Lakers will get four chances to scare the Warriors next season, with two of them coming on two of the NBA’s marquee days, setting the tone that the NBA knows that Lakers-Warriors is going to be a season-long storyline now that James has come aboard.

If the Lakers can prove themselves in those regular season matchups, then they may just get the Warriors’ respect.

If not, expect a lot more talk like this from Green.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.