Draymond Green on Zach LaVine: 'You’re a F--king All-Star ... You Deserve Respect'

On the heels of forming a strong bond at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green heaped praise on Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine this week.

In an interview with Marcus Thompson II and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, Green talked about getting LaVine to embrace his status as a superstar player in the NBA:

"When you look at a guy as talented as Zach LaVine, the reality is nobody has taught him how to be Zach LaVine and not treated as this young kid who's up and coming in the league who's trying to figure it out. Like, no. You're a f--king All-Star. You figured it out. You deserve respect. And most importantly, you have the respect of your peers. Embody that. Because if you don't embody that, people can see through that and it will be used against you.

"He's one of those guys that's extremely talented, extremely confident, but doesn't really know how good he truly is, what he brings to the table. So it's just trying to teach him that. You are the face of a franchise, bro. How do you be that? He's never been on a team where anyone can really, truly teach him that. Or else he would've been that."

LaVine was named an All-Star for the first time in his career last season when he averaged career highs across the board with 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.4 three-pointers made per game.

Now, he is the top player on a Bulls team that is off to a red-hot start this season and sits third in the Eastern Conference with an 8-4 record.

While LaVine was the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, he largely came off the bench in his first two seasons and wasn't treated like a franchise cornerstone, as Green alluded to.

LaVine finally got inserted into the starting lineup and received ample playing time during the 2016-17 season, and he was dealt to the Bulls as part of the Jimmy Butler trade the next offseason.

The 26-year-old former UCLA standout's career has soared in Chicago, as he has increased his scoring average each season and is on pace to average at least 25 points per game for the third consecutive season.

Even with the Bulls bringing in the likes of Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball since last season, LaVine remains the go-to guy on an up-and-coming team.

In 12 games this season, he is averaging 25.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 three-pointers made, putting him in good position to earn his second consecutive All-Star nod.

LaVine is also in line for a massive payday, as his contract expires at the end of the season.

Given how much he has grown as a player over the past few years and how he has established himself as the face of the franchise, it seems likely that the Bulls will ultimately reward LaVine with the supermax contract extension.

If not, there is no question that some other NBA team will be more than willing to spend big money on a top-flight scorer who continues to improve with each passing season.