After four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and winning an NBA championship title, LeBron James decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Los Angeles Lakers in the recent free agency. The acquisition of James is expected to turn the Lakers from a rebuilding team to a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.
In a recent interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated , Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green praised LeBron James for being able to make his own decision regardless of what other people say. However, despite having another team who will try to challenge the Warriors in the Western Conference next season, Green doesn’t seem to be worried about the Lakers or any other teams in the league.
“Teams worry about us. We don’t worry about nobody. We are the champs. Why do we have to worry about anybody? They have to worry about us. They say we are ruining the league. I love it!”
It’s not a surprise why Draymond Green doesn’t see the Lakers as a huge threat to the Warriors. Unlike in his previous stints with the Miami Heat and the Cavaliers, James could be heading in the 2018-19 NBA season as the Lakers’ lone superstar. After acquiring James in free agency, the Lakers decided to sign four role players – Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, and Michael Beasley – whose fit with LeBron remains a big question mark.
Meanwhile, after winning back-to-back NBA championship titles, the Warriors managed to retain their core of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Green this offseason. The reigning NBA champions also made a huge upgrade on their roster with the acquisition of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins in free agency. Though Cousins is expected to miss most of the 2018-19 regular season, the Warriors could enter the Western Conference Playoffs 2019 with a starting lineup featuring five NBA All-Stars.
Most of the Warriors’ players, including Draymond Green, are very excited to play alongside DeMarcus Cousins next season. The 28-year-old power forward believes that the addition of Cousins to their star-studded roster will make the Warriors “close to unstoppable.”
“We are excited as hell to have ‘Cuz’ here. ‘Cuz’ is a top-five talent in this league with something to prove.”
Six weeks before the training camp, Draymond Green revealed that he is already starting to return to his basketball routine. One of his main priorities this offseason is to see to it that his body can withstand the long season and long playoff run.
