When we look back at Patrick Beverley’s time on ESPN this week, the thing that will stand out the most is his pointed criticism of Chris Paul.
And while that deservedly garnered plenty of attention, Draymond Green, another one of the NBA’s most outspoken current players, thinks there’s a lesson to be had.
Green has never been afraid to speak candidly. So, by and large he had no issues with Beverley’s appearances on the Worldwide Leader, but the Golden State Warriors star did dole out some advice on his podcast “The Draymond Green Show.”
“No. 1, if you sit back and look at some of the things Patrick Beverley said, I think he’s making some very legit points of someone that really understands the game of basketball," Green said. "Now, I think that’s marred a bit by his comments on Chris Paul. Because once he made the comments on Chris Paul, that became the headline, that became the news, and at that point everyone just kind of started discrediting everything he said from that point on.
“I’ve seen more than just the Chris Paul stuff, and I actually think he said some good things. There have been times on there when he was very particular in breaking things down, he went in-depth on things, so I think people really can learn some things from listening to Patrick Beverley. However, I think his comments made on Chris Paul took some of the attention away from some great points he was making, and rightfully so.”
Beverley, who also took a (provably false) shot at Jayson Tatum, wasn’t making standalone comments and changing his opinion quickly. He was emphatic in what he said, and would double-down.
Paul, even for his shortcomings, is a widely-respected player. Beverley had to have known the stir that was going to cause.
“When you go at a guy like Chris Paul, who is a legend in our game, that is going to take the cake,” Green said. “That’s not something you say for a day and it goes away, that’s going to take the cake and people are going to remember that, and then he doubled down on it and tripled down on it. As someone who is on the TV side of things, I think that should be a huge learning experience for him. I’m not saying go apologize for the Chris Paul stuff and what you said, I don’t apologize, you stand on what you said.
“But I think that can be a learning thing for him, to understand that I can be good in this business and I can break the game down differently than most people can break the game down. And I don’t have to be like these clowns that gets a microphone and goes on TV, I don’t have to be these clowns. And I think if he does that and he learns from that, I thought he was saying some good stuff on TV and breaking the game down the way he was breaking the game down. I think people can learn from that.”
Given how brash and unfiltered Beverley can be, hope of him dialing things back anytime soon seems unlikely. If anything, it would be after he retires from playing.
Now, we’ll have to wait until next season to see if Beverley’s candor results in any fallout on the court.
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