Draymond Green has never been shy about expressing an opinion. Just look at his rant earlier this week about the media and the league holding team owners to a lower standard than players when it comes to dealing with roster moves.
That quality is why Tara August, Turner Sports’ senior vice president of talent relations and special projects, told Richard Deitsch the Golden State Warriors forward will likely wind up on television when his playing career is over.
“Draymond has a long, bright future in television,” August said. “There’s very few players, especially active players, who are as comfortable as he is giving opinion and not being nervous about the fallout, which people might find shocking. When people talk about him on the air, he’s quick to defend himself or call them out. He’s OK with giving criticism and critiques about what he sees about players, teams, coaches, and being comfortable and authentic. He really isn’t trying to go after anyone — he’s just speaking his mind about what he sees, and he’s OK with people agreeing with it or not, much in the same way that Charles [Barkley] has always been. He’s just authentic and comfortable in his own skin and really has a great mind in watching the game. We really think he’s got great potential long-term.”
Green has already done some work for Turner. Last July he was part of the special presentation The Arena, which lead into the league restart inside the Walt Disney World bubble. He also made multiple appearances on Inside the NBA during the playoffs.
August says that in those appearances, Green showed how invested he was in being his best on television.
“He was doing homework, he attended production meetings, he had ideas that he was bringing into the fold. He really took it seriously and was excited about it. Each time he made appearances with us, we would hear from him before the show about ideas or games or highlights.”
Green has been open about his desire to find a second professional life in the media. He told Marc Stein of The New York Post that he had a goal of being the NBA’s answer to Tony Romo.
Draymond Green is 30 years old. He is signed through the end of the 2023-2024 season. At that point, he will be 34 years old. He already has three world championship rings. Is it possible that he is thinking about an early retirement or is it more likely that Draymond Green will take every opportunity he can to get some broadcasting reps in because when you are playing in the NBA, you don’t get many chances to call NBA games?
