Draymond Green and Karl-Anthony Towns in war of words over Russell Westbrook comments

During a recent Twitch interview with Adin Ross, Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns was asked his opinion on Russell Westbrook and kept it 100. Towns and Ross were on the topic of stat chasing, and Towns, while also praising Westbrook for being a great player, did acknowledge that he plays to fill up the stat sheet.

Of course, this clip came across the desk of Draymond Green, since he’s currently posted up at the house due to Covid-19 protocols. As expected, Green was not a fan of Towns airing out Russ in this way, but he didn’t necessarily take issue with KAT’s point.

Draymond’s argument is more about upholding the “brotherhood” between NBA players over anything else. It feels like Green is more concerned with giving the media ammunition to pit player against player. I think that’s where Green’s disapproval of KAT’s comments is targeted.

Although, if we’re being honest, Draymond is basically a member of the media, in a way, with his podcast and everything else he’s done in the sports media space in recent years. Let’s keep it real, whenever Charles Barkley retires from TNT, Green could slide in as his replacement and not miss a beat.

Upon hearing of Green’s criticism of his comments about Westbrook, KAT didn’t run from the smoke but instead welcomed it with open arms.

The initial topic of Westbrook’s stat padding has seemingly been forgotten by this point of the conversation. Towns wasn’t knowingly trying to disparage Westbrook but rather answering a question honestly. KAT isn’t wrong in what he said about Russ going after stats. We’ve seen it for five years now. Draymond just didn’t like him saying it publicly, it seems. He’s “protecting” the brotherhood, so to speak.

Green would rather keep these things within the family, you could say, although it’s pretty clear to see what Westbrook’s modus operandi has been during his career. It doesn’t take a current or former NBA player to see what Russ is about. Here’s what I’d love to find out from Draymond:Would you want to play on the same team as Westbrook? That’s a completely valid question in this conversation.

I’m sure nothing much will come of this online interaction, but you’ve got to think this just might give KAT a little extra motivation the next time Minnesota plays Golden State. That next matchup comes in a couple of weeks when the Warriors visit the T-Wolves on Jan. 16. I wouldn’t be surprised if Towns posted a triple-double on the Warriors to hammer home his initial point.