Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green really tapped into something a couple of years ago during his war of words with Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley. Turner Sports was so impressed with Green’s brash opinionated style that they struck up a relationship, and now it’s been announced that he is officially part of the Inside the NBA on TNT family.
I think most of us knew this would be a slam dunk once Green’s playing days were done. But now we see these big networks signing players to long-term deals before the retirement papers are signed. Look at Drew Brees last year and Tony Romo a few years back. Green already has a podcast on Colin Cowherd’s network called The Volume. So this deal with Turner Sports makes sense.
It just felt like Green had some type of media in his future after he roasted Paul Pierce during The Truth’s final season in the league. That’s when I knew. Talk about mean-spirited, Green went for the jugular on Pierce that night. I grew up playing the dozens (capping, roasting, etc.) like a lot of guys, but even I said, “damn, that was cold.” Pierce looked entirely defeated after that, and I knew then Green’s quick wit was going to make him even more money somewhere down the line.
“You can’t get no farewell tour, they don’t love you like that. You ain’t got that type of love. You thought you was Kobe?”
Although Barkley and Green have since squashed their beef. Future segments with both guys onset should be intriguing television. Green and the Warriors should be prepared for more tampering fines, with Green discussing current players while he’s still an active player in the league himself. Just go ahead and set aside a rainy-day fund for when Draymond’s mouth gets ahead of him. History usually repeats itself, so it’ll probably happen again.
And with Barkley’s possible retirement nearing, the timing here is excellent, as the show already has his successor in the building. Barkley revealed that he’ll most likely work another two years, and when he hits the age of 60, that’s it.
“I’ve played 16 years, been on TV for 21 years, and I’m probably going to work until I’m 60, I have two more years left on my deal,” Barkley said. “But this notion that I’m still going to be going on TV when I’m 65 years old, 68 years old, and when I’m 70, that’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard.”
Whenever the time comes for Sir Charles to step aside, Green can step right in and carry on the loudmouth legacy of that seat for years to come. TNT made the right decision in jumping on the Draymond Green bandwagon early. It’s been clear for some time that multiple networks were going to be ready to bring him in, and Turner beat ‘em all to the punch.
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