One sports radio host is hoping that the New York Knicks engage in a San Francisco beatdown.
The metropolitan controversy around Golden State Warriors star Green continues to simmer and will likely do so until things come to a head on Saturday when the Knicks face the Dubs at Chase Center.
Green is under fire from Knicks fans and more for suggesting that New York star Karl-Anthony Towns sat out of the Warriors’ Tuesday visit to avoid a matchup with former Minnesota teammate Jimmy Butler on his web series when he was actually absent due to personal reasons, later revealed to be the passing of his girlfriend Jordyn Woods’ close friend. Nationally-syndicated radio host Zach Gelb believes the Knicks should take drastic action next weekend.
“Karl-Anthony Towns wouldn’t do this, but maybe a Knicks teammate should do this: the next time the Knicks play the Warriors — whenever they meet up next — I hope someone punches Draymond Green,” Gelb said at the end of a long rant on his eponymous program on the Infinity Sports Network. “Disgusting.”
Green’s implication has been roundly ripped by amateur and professional observers alike and his apology—or lack thereof—has done little to soothe things over. Some may be willing to dismiss his words as part of his traditionally antagonistic personality but Gelb certainly isn’t one of them if his rant is any indication.
“Draymond Green is a heartless a-hole — that’s what he is,” Gelb said. “You will get information wrong. You will have bad takes when you do this job, but there’s difference in saying, ‘Hey, I think this team’s going to win,’ or ‘Hey, I think this team’s going to go with this draft pick,’ and you get that wrong.”
“When you’re talking about Karl-Anthony Towns missing a game, and you hear it’s about the incident going back to Minnesota, and you claim that Karl-Anthony Towns is ducking Jimmy Butler, you better be right on that.”
Towns has since returned to the New York lineup as the Knicks (40-23) work through a Western Conference road trip. The five-game set works through Sacramento and Portland before concluding in San Francisco on Saturday night.
While the Knicks likely won’t engage in full-on fisticuffs against Green on Saturday, Towns’ teammate Josh Hart hinted that rhetoric like Green’s won’t be tolerated.
“We give [Towns] a lot of credit, we’re there for him, and I think everyone has to keep that in mind when they see things,” Hart said after Friday’s Knicks game against the Los Angeles Clippers, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “People say stupid things when they don’t understand and … We’re humans.”