Warriors' Draymond Green on Past Beef with Chris Paul: 'We Can Talk Amongst Men'

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green suggested Wednesday that he intends to squash his beef with Chris Paul now that the veteran stars are teammates.

During an appearance on the Pat Bev Podcast (beginning at the 30-minute mark), Green addressed his past issues with Paul and his desire to move forward from them:

"Everyone's like, 'How they supposed to be teammates now?' And I'll tell you how. No. 1, I've never been in the situation really to build a relationship with him. I'm an adult, Chris is an adult. Like, we can talk amongst men. And that, I look forward to. There's no sugarcoating what's happened all these years. This is real life. Like, people get it twisted. Like, oh man, you're in character. No, this is real life we're living when we're playing in these games.

"So to just go front and act like all those things was fake—like I publicly said I didn't like Chris before. I'm not going to just be like, 'Oh, man, that changed now that he's my teammate.' No. I look forward to talking amongst men. I look forward to working with another adult. I've had my fair share of days of not working with adults, and people who don't move like adults. So I'm looking forward to going to work with an adult. You know what I'm saying? Chris is a pro. I'm looking forward to going to work with a pro. He's super smart and he's shown to be a great leader."

The 38-year-old Paul, who is a 12-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, ended up in Golden State this offseason following a whirlwind week.

Paul was initially traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Washington Wizards as part of the deal for Bradley Beal, and he was later flipped from Washington to Golden State for guard Jordan Poole and draft picks.

While the specifics behind the problems between Green and Paul are somewhat murky, they primarily stem from comments Green made in 2020 during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast (h/t Marca).

At the time, Green said, "I don't like CP at all," before adding that he respected Paul's hustle and basketball IQ.

Green said he felt Paul was trying to keep Stephen Curry "at bay" in terms of their off-court relationship, and because of that and his desire to stand up for his teammate, Green admitted to trying to create "division" between Curry and Paul.

On Wednesday, Green acknowledged that things between him and CP3 haven't necessarily been patched up yet, but he expressed excitement over getting to team up with a competitor of Paul's ilk:

"Me and Chris have had our differences, you know, over the course of my 11 years playing in this league. Since year one. Chris is the way he is. I am the way I am. He's not changing who he is at this point, I'm not changing who I am at this point. And I think it's very important for people to understand that.

"The same sentiments I had about Chris, they don't just leave. And the same sentiments Chris had about me, like, they don't just leave. And I think that's where people get things so f--ked up. It's like, all of a sudden you gotta fake this thing or fake that thing. Nah. What I've always respected about Chris is his tenacity, his will to win. Now I have an opportunity to be alongside that, on the same side of it."

Paul's comments since the trade to Golden State have also painted the picture of him looking forward to being on the same side as Green rather than being his opposition for once.

Speaking this month to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Paul said:

"Draymond is sort of like—I always say when people ask me who's the one player that I didn't get to play with that I wish I would have, I always say Kevin Garnett. And it's because the first three times I ever played against KG, we both got double techs. We were about to fight every time, but it's because he was like-minded like me. And I think that's the way with Draymond. I know he competes just like I do. So it's going to be definitely dope to see us now as teammates."

Green entered the NBA as a second-round draft pick of the Warriors in 2012, and Paul has also played in the Western Conference during that entire stretch, enjoying stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Suns.

As a result, Green and Paul have had their fair share of on-court battles, and given their competitive nature, it isn't particularly shocking that it led to some bad blood.

Green has won four championships with the Warriors whereas Paul is still in search of his first title and the exclamation point on what is already a Hall of Fame résumé.

If they can put their issues aside, Green and Paul have a chance to compete for a championship next season as part of a veteran-laden roster that also includes Curry, Klay Thompson and a host of others.