Draymond Green and Chris Paul trace their rivalry from Green telling Taylor Rooks he "hate[s]" Paul to becoming teammates. They credit mutual friend Devin Booker, a bench incident in LA, and simple maturity for turning the feud into friendship.
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As I said before, you're not someone who sits on social media. I know that in being your teammate and spending time around you. You're not someone who watch talk shows. But like I said, I do know you're someone who's in a couple group chats. One specifically that you always talk about your boys.
Yes.
And your brother.
Absolutely.
And I know my homies, when some shit said, they sending it to me like, "Hey, what's up with bruh?" Quick, fast, and in a hurry. So I was in an interview, if I'm not mistaken, I was in an interview with Taylor Rooks, who's a great friend. She's incredible. I think Taylor Rooks, by the way, just shout out to Taylor, is the best in the business. She's incredible what she does in interview. I watch, like again, I take this stuff very serious. I watch film on her.
Yeah.
Like her follow-up questions are like Oprah. Like she crazy.
Taylor is really good and she keeps it laid back and fun to where guys are comfortable too.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So I watch her and if I'm not mistaken in an interview with her, she was asking me about people that I don't like in the NBA. And I said, I hate Chris Paul, easily 100% my least favorite person in the NBA. I wanna walk through these things because again, we keep like, I mean every word I've said.
Yeah.
But, man, that's a journey to get through there, to get to that. And you get something sent to your phone, I'm saying something like that. Number one, talk to me. Like, what were you thinking of? What was being said, goddamn it, in that group chat when that came out?
So first and foremost, just like anybody, just like Trav, anybody, every— all of my homies gonna know who I don't rock with.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying? And so I don't know which time that was first and foremost, 'cause you just said it a few times, if we gonna keep it funky. So for me, I'm gonna tell you, and it's crazy 'cause I mean, I could name a few guys who didn't have that with me in my career. You know what I'm saying? And everybody who know me know, like, and you know this, Dray, I always say this, when anybody say something, I say, I be everywhere. I say this all the time. I say, I be everywhere. And I say, when these people see me, they don't be on that type time. And I know it's respect thing and all this. And then hell, we showed up at Bron House for the card game. Yep. You know what I'm saying? Like all this different type stuff. So when that come across like a group chat or one of the homies or something like that, you know, niggas be like, man, how is he, how you even on his right? I'd be like, man, I don't know. I don't know, real talk. It's crazy. Of course, all my homies, they say this and say that, but me, I don't know. I think it's that we differ, like people differ. And I always said, like, if somebody asked me that, I may say something else around it or whatnot, but it wasn't never that deep for me. I knew how I felt, you know what I'm saying? But if somebody asked me, I wasn't gonna say this and say that, but it was for me, like I said, I'm president of the union for 8 years. It's been a few guys in this league who would go out here and say something about me. And then what I always say, I'm everywhere.
I'm everywhere.
I'm everywhere. I'm at the meetings. I done had guys who would talk crazy about me on a podcast or a show. And then they come up to me before a game and be like, "Hey, yo, C, what we gonna do as far as the union stuff is we gonna play?" And I be looking like, "Didn't you just say?" You know what I mean? But I think, I mean, me and you done talked a lot about all this stuff. It was like when I got traded, you know what I'm saying? When I got traded, first thing, you know, I did is I hit you. You know what I'm saying? Knowing all the different dynamics or whatever it was, sent you a text. I was like, "Yo, excited to be your teammate." We talked it out, right? Absolutely. I feel like I've always been able to stand on that regardless what anybody say, this, that, and the third is that at the end of the day, if you know who you are, then you get past it.
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Now, interesting enough, man, you know, obviously Book's a teammate of yours. Book, your man, is it still great relationship? I've known Book since high school, like maybe 15, 16 years old or something like that. And so I've always had a great relationship with Book. I got, I mean, I love Book. Like, that's my dog. We playing the Olympics in 2021. And I'm like, Book, I hate him. Like, Book, and he, Book like, and Book a real one. I love Book, man. He a real one. Book said, "I feel you, Dray. I don't know if he really feel that strong about it, Dray. I don't know. He don't talk about it like that." Right. I said, "I know he probably don't talk about it, Book. I fucking hate CP, man." And he like, "Yeah, Dray, he don't really, he don't be on it like that. Like, he—" Like, yeah, he definitely don't fuck with you, but he don't be on it like that, Dray. Like, come on, Dray. I'm like, nah, Book, you don't understand. And again, that goes back to, I gotta say it, but also immaturity. You know, even in like, when I look back and I speak and you know, I think about things that I've done, like there are some things that break the internet that I wish I could take back like that. You know what I'm saying? Like people, People really value themselves on, "Can I move people this way? Can I get people to say this? What they gonna think?" And there's actually things that I've said throughout my course of these years that broke the internet, that people love, that people like, "Oh yeah." And I wish I could take it back right away. And I think for me, it's also like the immaturity. You're 6 years older than me. You know, like, been through a lot more than me, been doing this a lot longer than me. And then obviously there's the difference in personalities as well, but a lot of immaturity involved in my life.
But I was on that type time too though. Like it's crazy. And I don't even really be thinking about it. I don't even be realizing that I'm 6 years older than you. 'Cause when I'm in it, I'm in it. Right? And so Book, that's like my brother for real. You know what I'm saying? And so me and Book spent a lot of time together, still do. And you know, it's crazy. Book would tell me about guys that he was around, you know what I'm saying? That was saying little stuff. And I'd be like, dang, This person don't act like that when they around me. You know what I'm saying? And so that's always been interesting for me. But I'll tell you this, I remember it was a game we was playing in LA. You wasn't playing.
Yeah.
You was behind the bench.
Yeah.
You was behind the bench. I don't know what year it was, but something happened or whatever during the game. You stood up, said something, I said something. And that was just, that's the type time it was.
Yeah.
That was the league. It wasn't like social media like that. People wasn't putting it all over the internet or whatnot, but it was just, It was a competition thing, man. And for me, that stuff can escalate. And I always been, I always say this, I'm on whatever they on. You know what I'm saying? That's just always the energy I done had since I came into the league, man. And like you say, immaturity, I had it. I still got it at times too. I ain't no saint by no means, but it's a process. Mm-hmm. You start appreciating different players in this league. You appreciate even being able to play at a high level and all that. But I told you, outta all the guys that, told Steve this, I felt like I told the team that outta all the guys that I didn't really had like beefs with over my career, you know, that I could care less if I talked to 'em or whatever. I said, I'm glad I got an opportunity to be teammates with you. Straight up, man. And I mean that when I say it, because, you know, you get a chance to see for real, you know, why y'all was winning championships, you know, the competitiveness, all that, man. So, and I mean that, you know what I mean? I'm glad we get a chance to be on the same team.
