Aside from the acquisition of Anthony Davis, maybe the biggest move the Los Angeles Lakers made last offseason was signing Danny Green.
A 3-and-D wing with championship experience both with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors, and coming off a career-best shooting season, Green was viewed as the perfect addition to the team spearheaded by LeBron James and Davis.
Though Green didn’t have nearly as good of a season as the prior one in Toronto, he still played an integral role on the team’s championship run and was a beloved member of the locker room. His time with the Lakers was short, as Green was dealt away in a trade for Dennis Schroder.
Even as Green took a ton of criticism from fans for his inconsistent performance, the Lakers were still able to capture the championship. That resulted in Green receiving a text message from Gregg Popovich, which included a bit of a lighthearted jab at James and Davis, via Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports:
“Tell LeBron and A.D. to play some more defense,” Popovich wrote, according to Green.
Popovich is well known for being one of the most sarcastic people in the entire league, in addition to one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. He is extremely well respected and has a relationship with James and Davis from their time with USA Basketball so him taking a shot at them should come as no surprise.
It also wouldn’t be shocking if Green shared the message with them in that moment. Defense was surely not the problem for the Lakers last season, especially when it came to Davis who many believed should have won Defensive Player of the Year.
But Popovich is always someone who will throw jokes at people and no one is safe, even the league’s biggest stars.
LeBron James bids farewell to Green
James took to Twitter to praise both Green and Quinn Cook in the aftermath of them not returning to the Lakers. James noted that the Lakers wouldn’t have won the championship without their contributions and it showed the camaraderie that was developed on the roster.
In the time since, Cook re-signed with the Lakers on a non-guaranteed deal while Green was moved from the Thunder to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he will hope to continue his run of championships.
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