Paul Pierce Sends Draymond Green To The Bleachers Over Petty Battle With Kenyon Martin

Draymond Green and Kenyon Martin got into a beef while stating career accolades and prowess to get a one-up over the other.

Paul Pierce Sends Draymond Green To The Bleachers Over Petty Battle With Kenyon Martin

Draymond Green and Paul Pierce (Image via FirstSportz)

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Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is considered one of the better defenders in this era. Despite his 6′ 6″ size, the forward uses his tenacity, acumen, and awareness to shut down or hinder opposing players.

That is why he has earned 9 All-NBA selections, along with his 2017 Defensive Player of the Year award. Along with his 4 All-Star call-ups and 4 NBA championships, the Michigan native has done enough to wear a Hall of Fame gold jacket in the future.

It so happens that he used all those statistics to clap back at former NBA star Kenyon Martin, after the latter apparently labeled him as a ‘fake tough guy.’ In retaliation, the former All-Star ended up listing 50 out of his list of 200 former NBA power forwards whom he felt were better than Draymond Green.

In between this petty battle, a few former players have stated their opinion. Paul Pierce, for instance, seemingly sided with Martin when stating the differences between the eras.

Draymond is the greatest defender of this new era type of basketball. I don’t think you can put Draymond defensively in any other era, to where he will be an All-Defensive player… It’s easier to defend.

Paul Pierce said on No Fouls Given

The NBA champion acknowledged that the 35-year-old is the best defender in this new era of basketball. But he would not be able to make it on All-Defensive teams during the time he and Kenyon Martin played.

Paul Pierce believes Kenyon Martin would accomplish the same as Draymond Green in this era

Paul Pierce explained how the current form of basketball helps smaller defenders such as Draymond Green thrive. He believes the switching style of play allows the Warriors’ star to use his awareness to excel.

Had it been in the past eras, where physicality was what helped players stop their opponents, Green would have struggled. But switch Kenyon Martin to this era, and Pierce feels his career graph would have been different.

Kenyon Martin was fantastic. I had to play against him in his young days, in his prime… If K-Mart had a team like (Draymond Green) had, I think they still win 4 championships.

Paul Pierce said

He believes the former New Jersey Nets star would at least have the 4 championships Green won. Having played against him, his athleticism, physicality, and defensive prowess were great back then.

Had those skills translated into this era, maybe he would have come close to tying Green on individual accolades and could have even surpassed him.

Essentially, Pierce was trying to suggest that the two Saginaw, Michigan, natives had no reason to go at each other in such a petty manner. Both are great players and have had successful careers in their own right.

Draymond Green did not play as Warriors broke 3-game losing streak

Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors had just returned home from an exhausting 6-game road trip. The result of such a grueling and tightly packed schedule is that the team has had to rest its veteran players.

Draymond Green did not play against Jazz
Draymond Green did not play against Jazz (Image via Legion Hoops/X)

They first did that during the last game of that road trip against the Miami Heat. But missing games also causes a lapse in chemistry, which can lead to losses. The Warriors had lost their previous three games and hoped they would get some respite against the bottom-dwelling Utah Jazz. Green sat out this game as his teammates went to work.

Buoyed by Stephen Curry‘s 31-point performance wearing Nike’s in a game for the first time since 2013, the Warriors went on to snap their losing streak with a dominant 134-117 win.

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