(no hiding behind anonymous polls. i hate that shit. put your name on it!)

top 5 DoA? 10? 20? fiddy? overrated junkman?

given everything he does, i don't know that there are 15 guys playing better or contributing more value right now.

biggest threat to Steph getting a finals mvp lol

but top 10 when you factor in both ends.

A lot of people will come in here and argue he cant carry a team thats not the warriors so he's not top anything.

For arguments sake lets entertain that and say it was true. I dont think he has to - do be top 10 because he's so good at his jobs

(either the one with thorpe or the one with amin, can't remember)

they talked about the way that teams are constructing their rosters now as far as the 2 'big' roles. on offense you basically want 1 stretch and 1 P&R rim runner who preferably can make that weak-side-corner-3 pass. on the other side you want 1 switch defender on screens and 1 rim protector who can bang in the post.

draymond's basically the only guy in the league who can fill ALL of those roles on any given possession. and that's why no one can duplicate their small lineup.

True indeed. He is the Swiss Army Knife Hooper. Has any player in the recent past given a bigger L to his draft doubters?

He's top 10.

Don't know if he'll end the season in the top 10, but RIGHT NOW, he's there.

Bron
Durant
kahwi
ad
russy
curry
blake
cp3
pg
Drummond

15 even gets muddy
wall
melo
Harden
Lowry
Butler
Aldridge

Granted, i'm deducting points from him bc of the system he's in. He might be top 10 for GS but he's not top 10 or 15 of nba players.

Edit oh i can't get with these right today arguments when ranking players. I look it at moreso if i was starting a team right today, who would i pick, not who is having the best season right today

They're numbers are actually pretty similar. Even the assists. And in the advanced stats, Dray is mostly ahead.

And yeah, I just saw your edit.

player in a great system.

You can take Chris Paul off the Clippers and put him on any other team in the NBA and he'd still be a top 10 player.

Would Draymond be a top 10 player on any other team in the NBA? I don't think so...

its basically asking who is having the best season so far.

A totally different convo from who is the better player.

...season ends. But right today? Yep.

might be more important than Green to the team for what they do. We saw that in the Finals.

top 20? 50?

steep

guys i'd prolly / definitely rank ahead of him right today

steph
bronnie
KD
russ
PG
kawhi
blake
chris
AD
harden
lowry
butler
bosh
love
drummond
duncan
dirk

favors, millsap and bledsoe are playing great too.

so yeah, 15-20. in that range.

The Clippers with Griffin, Paul, and a bally-hooed bench are barely above .500 right today. The Dubs, with Curry and Dray and the same roster they had last year, are undefeated.

>Would Draymond be a top 10 player on any other team in the
>NBA? I don't think so...

Yeah, the Clippers.

>The Clippers with Griffin, Paul, and a bally-hooed bench are
>barely above .500 right today. The Dubs, with Curry and Dray
>and the same roster they had last year, are undefeated.
>
>>Would Draymond be a top 10 player on any other team in the
>>NBA? I don't think so...
>
>Yeah, the Clippers.

>player in a great system.
>
>You can take Chris Paul off the Clippers and put him on any
>other team in the NBA and he'd still be a top 10 player.
>
>Would Draymond be a top 10 player on any other team in the
>NBA? I don't think so...


Nobody in the NBA can play Draymond's role in the gstate system as good as he can on both ends.

Your second point doesnt matter. Why worry about the what ifs. Right now hes on the Warriors and hes signed there for the forseeable future. Thats where hes going to be playing

>Nobody in the NBA can play Draymond's role in the gstate
>system as good as he can on bith ends.
>
>Your second point doesnt matter. Why worry about the what ifs.
>Right now hes on the Warriors and hes signed there for the
>forseeable future. Thats where hes going to be playing

>i can't get with these right today arguments when
>ranking players. I look it at moreso if i was starting a team
>right today, who would i pick, not who is having the best
>season right today

good thing we're not on that eddie murph 1000 words steez, and are actually allowed to discuss both topics.

but ya'll having a different convo.

way you can put him ahead of dudes that have to carry their team on both ends every night.

Worthy was the third option and Smith was the first for his team.

We could do the same thing with contemporary players.

I can hear an argument that Green isn't top whatever (I'd have him mid-20s to mid-30s, and it would be a *right today* list) but this ain't it.

>dudes that have to carry their
>team on both ends every night.

i can only think of a handful, and no one ranks draymond ahead of any of them.

still a role player. If he's your best player your team is not going to be very good. Similar to what I used to say about Kevin Love back in the day.

"there's no way you can put him ahead of dudes that have to carry their team on both ends every night."

what "dudes" are you referring to?

i'll spot you PG, kawhi, jimmy butler, lebron, anthony davis and andre drummond.

no one ranks draymond ahead of any of those dudes. so who else?


>Bottom line, Green is role player, he's a great role player, but
>he's still a role player.

well, if you're the absolute best "role player" in the nba
(a la ben wallace, rodman, ron artest, bobby jones, shawn marion,
michael cooper, mutombo, etc in their respective primes)
you're probably still a top 20 or top 25 guy. it's not like
there are 20+ "superstars" in the league.

i mean, you yourself said in this thread that he's top 20-25. you backing off of that already?

>If he's your best player your team is
>not going to be very good. Similar to what I used to say about
>Kevin Love back in the day.

he's the warriors' second best player. they're pretty good.

Worked on his ball handing, better shooter (3pt % is up), and even better passer

This on top of his already high bball IQ and all nba defense

Most important piece of the small ball death squad too


Hard to say what he would look like on another team. But when you consider how he's playing in his role with the dubs

Top ten

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jerry-west-on-draymond-green---if-he-s-not-a-top-10-player-in-this-league--i-don-t-know-who-is-212150220.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=tw

I'll add on to Mr West and say this: Draymond Green, more than any other player, even Steph, is responsible for the new style of play in today's NBA.

Think about it. The fact that he at 6'8 is good enough defensively to play any center straight up is the key component in the Dub's being able to keep their small (and best offensive) lineups on the floor. One chip later, THAT is what has got the whole L trying to keep up.

well west does work for the organization and i dont fully get your second statement. i do think he is a combination of new age big and old school big. unseld was 6'8" and russell was 6'9", they could also go head up with any center. in terms with what you're describing more specifically, boris diaw was kind of the prototype for that with the 06 suns.

I was with some friends at Dave & Busters on a Wednesday night. Draymond rolls in around 1 AM-- this was shortly after he'd signed his big extension. We were all drunk and stupid and we couldn't stop geeking out that Draymond was a mid-week Dave & Busters kind of dude.

One of our friends was a girl who had zero fucking clue who Draymond Green is, couldn't have cared less, and was starting to get annoyed by our constant hypothesizing on his favorite and least favorite arcade games and what type of food he'd order at the bar. We left when D&B closed, same as him, and we're still drunkenly talking about him as we all head to the parking garage.

Our female friend approaches Draymond and says, "Excuse me, I don't know who you are, but my friends won't stop talking about you-- would you mind taking a picture with them so they'll shut up?"

TO HIS TOTAL CREDIT, he laughed, was super nice about it, and tolerated our drunken buffoonery for a few minutes. As he was leaving, I screamed, "YOU'RE WINNING IT ALL NEXT YEAR!" drunkenly forgetting as I yelled that he had, in fact, just won it all.

Still, if they win it all this year, I'm going to live in the fantasy that my drunken post-D&B words of inspiration were what helped Dray continue to grow and that their title run was, in fact, all because of me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/5xEfJRRlNJ/

So, in conclusion... top 5.

I wanted to say he was close to top 15

but those pants definitively pushed him to top 20.

Take him off GS and he's average at best.

Great for what the team needs of him though.

I'm not naming any role player top anything

I would say he is definitely a top 25 player in the NBA right today and he is so important to his team even with at least one better player on it and their having depth up front. He's turned the corner on the Ibakas and Noahs of the world and is now in the convo with the real elite guys. You just can't find bigs who can battle like he can and do so many things.

I will change this opinion only when I see draymond green I see draymond green lead a team to sustained success without steph.

*Why right today posts are dumb

Without thinking about it too deeply and counting players, and just talking individually and ignoring the context of how they'd fit on a given team. Now for Golden State there definitely aren't 30 players in the league that they would rather have, because he's a great fit for what they need him to do. Very versatile player and he's obviously a huge part of what makes them go.

But if he were to sign a max contract elsewhere to go be the best player on that team? He's not that type of player...where the players I'd rank above him are or could be given the opportunity.

>But if he were to sign a max contract elsewhere to go be the
>best player on that team? He's not that type of
>player...where the players I'd rank above him are or could be
>given the opportunity.

Millsap better on offense for sure.

Millsap is probably the most underrated defender in the league.

Dray did so much more slicing up my rockets and not just the assists. The defense and defensive play calling was a big part of the Warriors pulling away.

Kay had his 30 + several of those buckets were via dray facilitating.

Plus he messed around and got the triple double

Mumbo Junbo fantasy basketball. Players play on teams that have schemes. Dray plays on a team where his skills fit scheme and scheme fit him.

That's not changing for awhile and that's where he plays so I'll stay rooted in reality.
His all around play been evident since his days at Michigan state which was a different offense.

duno who the fuck you think you selling...

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=21&topic_id=101918#102148

there were plenty of college basketball threads from 2009-2012 calling dray all kinds of fat and "won't be in the league" and i was in those defending him. he can play.

what we're discussing, shawn, is TOP 10/20 players being SCHEME INDEPENDENT. that goes for ALL SPORTS. if your talent ain't enough to stand out on it's own, then you are the product of a system. so, cool, 15, 9 and 7 for one of the most spacious offenses of the last twenty years ain't really shit for any dude with a nice skillset and a high b-ball IQ. muhfuckan fat ass john williams from the old bullets teams would be averaging a strong ass triple double in dray's place on that team. and john williams was waaaaay better than dray will ever be...and he played for trash teams. nigga just ate himself out the league, sean may style.

so, call it whatever you want and cop all the pleas you want...he wouldn't be doing what he doing for ANY other NBA team, in the same role. that's REALITY. the REALITY of jackson's offense as opposed to kerr/ walton's...so, yeah, let's be reality, dogg.

>Mumbo Junbo fantasy basketball. Players play on teams that
>have schemes. Dray plays on a team where his skills fit scheme
>and scheme fit him.
>
>That's not changing for awhile and that's where he plays so
>I'll stay rooted in reality.
>His all around play been evident since his days at Michigan
>state which was a different offense.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=1939126&mesg_id=1939126&page=#1939352

man, shut yo ass up!

It was more so the Rockets getting beat backdoor & on leakouts as if they were a high school team rather than Draymond slicing them up. It's also not a surprise Klay & Iggy had good offensive nights since Brewer was the only one that put any pressure on them along w/ Beverely when they switched. I'm not even sure Klay scored on Brewer when he was hounding him in the 2nd quarter after he put up 17 on Ariza/Harden, lol.

The Rockets/Mavs are night & day when it comes to discipline & attention to detail. Only Tony Parker when he reverts to his 2014-15 "dribble, dribble" form would make the Rockets defense seem legit & get outplayed by Ty Lawson, lol.

I'll wait

http://images.techtimes.com/data/images/full/105279/princess-leia.jpg?w=600

this is just another iteration of the same things ppl said about paul george and kawhi leonard and jimmy butler before they made the leap. and the same thing will happen here. the detractors will just keep doubling down and doubling down, until one day 2 or 3 yrs from now when they get sick of looking silly and finally have to admit 'i was wrong'

dude is really fucking good. easily one of the 20 best players in the league.

Leavinf that chubster very very hungry

Riley is going to be in tears.

That was ridiculous

and the reason I know is because even outside of OKS, NBA discussions that are all about Kobe and LeBron 24/7 have now turned into "Draymond is/isn't a role player" arguments 24/7

https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/683680502704898048

Zach Lowe
‏@ZachLowe_NBA
Draymond Green is averaging 15.5-12.5 (rebs)-9.5 (assists) per 36 minutes with Curry on the bench. Shooting %s predictably down, though.
10:05 AM - 3 Jan 2016

http://bkref.com/tiny/P1ZnU

>http://bkref.com/tiny/P1ZnU

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_29338945/draymond-greens-warriors-heroics-know-no-bounds

Draymond Green's Warriors heroics know no bounds
By Carl Steward | csteward@bayareanewsgroup.com
POSTED: 01/03/2016 02:37:40 PM PST

In the wake of the latest and most monstrous triple-double of his career -- 29 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists against the Denver Nuggets -- Draymond Green seemed more delighted by the little challenge he won with interim coach Luke Walton.

It came in the first quarter of the Warriors' early blitz Saturday night. Green already had buried his first three 3-point shots as the Warriors took an 11-2 lead in the first 2:18. During a Nuggets timeout, the Warriors huddled at the bench and, well, here's Draymond to tell the rest:

"I was able to get it going, and my teammates started to look for me. Then Luke drew up a play for me (during the timeout) and told me I wasn't going to make it on the fourth one. So I had to knock that one down."

And of course, he did. Nailed it. Nuttin' but net, followed by a smile and a knowing smirk at the guy striding in front of the bench. Drain-mond. Trey-mond. Call him what you will, but make sure you call him unique and oh-so special, a man you can dare to do something and who will darn near kill himself trying.

If you want to know why Walton has been such a wonder as Steve Kerr's interim replacement, it's stuff like this. He's not so far removed from his playing days that he hasn't forgotten how to play the game within a game, the mind game that gently goads a player to a new level of greatness.

Whatever competitive buttons he's pushing with Green, he's hitting all the gobble holes in the pinball machine. Draymond is lighting up everywhere and giving multiple replays. It makes you wonder what Walton might do next to keep his most versatile player at this astonishing level of play.

Hey, Luke, how about this one? Tell Green he has played OK so far this season but add that he probably has reached his ceiling and that there's no chance he could ever become the NBA's MVP. Yep, that might touch off a fresh bell or whistle.

One could argue fairly convincingly that through 33 games, Green has been the best all-around player in the league -- and the most valuable -- even over teammate and defending MVP Stephen Curry. True, he's not off the charts in any one statistical category. He's averaging 15.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists. But as a composite, those numbers are pretty untouchable. And he's shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc, up eight percentage points from his career best last year (33.7).

He's one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best (go ahead, tell him San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard is slightly better), and he can guard any position. He's the team's loudest voice when the edges of the Warriors' precision attack becomes a bit frayed, so he's a leader of the highest order and someone who backs his smack.

He's durable -- he's one of two Warriors to play in all 33 games, and he leads the team in minutes played. He's cagey, tough and fearless, definitely the guy you want leading the way into the dark alley to face off with the Gutter Cats. Check him out after a game sometime -- he looks like a man who has just survived a rumble on the docks, wrapped up in assorted bandages, soaking his swollen feet in a bucket of ice water but sporting a visage of victory bliss.

More than anything, Green is best at winning. However it has to be done. As many have stated, he is the hard-thumping heartbeat of a team that is now an otherworldly 31-2. His plus-minus is second in the league to Curry, and in a three-point overtime victory against Denver, he was plus-18. That doesn't even count the little side game with Walton that he also won.

As for the triple-doubles, Green may now be challenging LeBron James as "The King" of that stat from the forward position. James has 36 career triple-doubles in the regular season, the league's active leader, but the most he has ever had in a single season is seven.

Green, who didn't get his first until a year ago (Jan. 2 vs. Toronto) already has six this year with 49 games to go. And let's not forget, Green also had a triple-double in the clinching Game 6 of the NBA Finals against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's fast becoming his statistical stamp of stardom.

Walton blew his cover after the game when asked about Green's spectacular performance and the latest new heights he's reaching. Walton couldn't help but gush about the player to whom he probably most relates, an underdog with a chip on his shoulder and a genius for playing basketball.

"You come to expect whatever is needed," Walton said. "Some nights that's his playmaking, some nights his toughness, or some nights it's hitting a big shot. He can have four points and still be the best player on the floor.

"Tonight, with the injuries and the way the game was, we needed his scoring, his rebounding and his playmaking. He did all of that. That stat line (which also included four steals), when I saw that after the game, that's as good as it gets."

To wit, according to Elias Sports Bureau, there have been five instances in the last 50 years when a player has amassed 29-plus points, 17-plus rebounds and 14-plus assists in an NBA game. Wilt Chamberlain did it three times, all in 1968. Larry Bird did it in 1987.

And now Draymond Green, kicking off 2016. Second-round draft pick Draymond Green. Too small, too pudgy, too poor-shooting and too loud Draymond Green.

But no, he couldn't win the MVP. Maybe throw in that he's not nearly good enough to make the Western Conference All-Star team or the U.S. Olympic team, either. Tell him, Luke, tell him. And then just lean back, fold your fingers behind your head and turn him loose on the world.

Jesus Christ

What isn't arguable?


Hes better than any big the spurs have

>What isn't arguable?
>
>
>Hes better than any big the spurs have

40 yr old Tim was toying w/ Monroe on both ends & LMA was pounding them on the offensive glass before Bobo finished them off. West is going to bitch slap Draymond if he tries to pull any shenanigans & don't get me started on Boban......

or at least lurks here...

http://www.complex.com/sports/2016/02/damian-lillard-calls-out-espn-cari-champion-for-saying-kevin-durant-doesnt-have-heart

your team around.

...and he is still a work in progress. He just happens to be the perfect player within that system and with that team.

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

okc has turned him into a non mffactor.

So let's not count him out just yet, he may recover his confidence and sharpness. But he's running out of time.

to see if Draymond goes out literally kicking and screaming playing in front of the Golden State crowd. Powered by local celebrities such as hardcore rapper Hammer and five star chef Guy Fieri.

Should be fun times on Friday.

but top ten tho lololol......

>but top ten tho lololol......

talent and game? top 25-40

i don't watch enough reg season games to narrow it down any further.

probably the most difficult player to rank. his game is hard to measure. he does so many things well, shot around 40% from 3 last year i think, yet somehow... his J is still not dependable. can score out the post at times, yet has no real post game to speak of. takes a lot of floaters and crazy, awkward, oft times ill advised shots yet a lot of them have been going in.

Because we've never seen him not on the super sayian warriors

Would he be able to be the #1 guy on a contender? No.

Is he a perfect 3rd option? Yes.

He's like Lamar Odom with DPOY-level defense and a killer instinct. Game 7 vs the Cavs showed me he can step up and be THE DUDE when he needs to (though also maybe that was in reaction to being suspended G6). Anyway, I'd rank him in the top 30 easily (current, not all time obviously). But he's an interesting case.

Funny thing is I said that over 4 years ago

You were wrong then and in the face of all his success you're sticking to it.

I'd say post 4 was the most illuminating and prescient in the thread. Really nails the value he gives his team and in the context of how important those things are in the context of the contemporary NBA.

Rings in 15, 17, 18. In 16 he was their best player in Game 7 despite the suspension earlier in the series. This year he might be playing his best ball and definitely being his best self. Even nights when he didn't have any flashy plays--threes or big blocks or flashy passes--but he fucked around and got a triple double.

So I think he's only improved his standing since then. Definitely a top 10 defensive player and top 10 two-way player given what he allows the Dubs to do on offense as well. Is he a top 10 player overall? I think that's rarefied air for sure and some other guys have stepped forward in the past four seasons. But he is up there and I'd definitely hear an argument for his total impact being greater than a guy who just scores, like Harden. I'd say he is top 15 today.

Maybe arguably top 5.

i wont be able to tell how good he really is until he isnt surrounded by 3 HOF shooters (of which two are arguably top 10 all time if they get rings this year)

if people aren't watching this and see it, you either don't know what to look for or its simple Dubs hate



Zach Lowe sees it:




http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26833111/what-draymond-sees-warriors-star-details-unique-game