Inside the Unsent Drafts of NBA Players' Social Media Accounts (OK, Not Really)
Draymond Green never should have hit "send."
To be more specific, he never should have selected the "My Story" option on his Snapchat app. That momentary lapse proved to be the difference between ferrying out an NSFW picture to the masses and an otherwise quiet weekend.
"It was meant to be private," Green said of the picture, per The Vertical's Michael Lee. "We're all one click away from placing something in the wrong place, and I suffered from that this morning."
Green is absolutely right. The age of social media gives every user, habitual or recreational, the tools to stage their own undoing. It's a scary and wild thing to consider. It also makes you wonder about anything that never escaped the drafts of NBA player accounts.
Bleacher Report has decided to find out. We fake-hacked the Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter accounts of a few marquee social media surfers, pored over their unsent thoughts and unearthed a healthy mix of responses to Green's dilemma along with some other random musings.
The Draymond Debacle
DeMarcus Cousins clearly doesn't have any qualms about roasting Green, a fellow Team USA baller, so I'm not entirely sure why this Snap wasn't pushed through. Maybe Carmelo Anthony threatened to force-feed him some flaxseed oatmeal or something.
Ayesha Curry knows a thing or two about the unsavory side of social media. She (briefly) claimed the Association was "absolutely rigged" after the Golden State Warriors' loss in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
If Green decided to stick with the "I'm a celebrity, and I was hacked even though I really wasn't" excuse, the idea that Snapchat is rigged against half-nude millionaires under 30 might have gained steam.
Draymond Green
"To say I can't catch a break, that's disrespectful to everybody, because how many people get to live out their dream?" Green explained of his immediate reaction to the Snapchat fiasco, per Lee. "I'm not going to sit here and throw myself a pity party."
Firing off this tweet would have nicely complemented those comments. But perhaps Green just didn't want to dredge up Paul George's catfish conundrum. Though, to be fair, Cousins thinks George still takes shirtless kissy-face selfies and the like for fun:
Chances are Green had nothing to worry about. Failing to hit "tweet" was the real mistake in this situation.
Richard Jefferson
Too bad Green didn't actually get advice from Richard Jefferson at the end of the NBA Finals. He is the greatest Snapchatter of all time.
Other Musings
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony, unlike Green, is reluctant to partake in social media shenanigans—glazed doughnut face references notwithstanding.
Case in point: He looked utterly miserable while Team USA was rocking out to some Vanessa Carlton. Carlton, being the good sport that she is, hollered at Anthony on Twitter:
This (probably now discarded) draft proves Anthony was just trying to figure out who sings "A Thousand Miles," not being a party-pooping curmudgeon.
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid was clearly waffling between posting this or something else on Instagram in support of Sam Hinkie, the author-turned-scapegoat of the Philadelphia 76ers' now notorious "process." He went with something else:
Let's face it: Embiid made the right call. Why publicly cop to placing a flaming bag of dog feces on Jerry Colangelo's porch?
LeBron James
What's the over/under on how long it would take the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign J.R. Smith if the also-unsigned LeBron James actually posted this to his Facebook page? One hour? One minute? Thirty seconds?
Eh, let's just set it for 10 seconds. That seems reasonable.
Isaiah Thomas
Good news, Isaiah Thomas. While Bleacher Report's Howard Beck called your Boston Celtics the most likely trade destination for Russell Westbrook, there wasn't anything brewing on that front as of mid-July, according to the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett. Your starting gig is safe.
Better still, if the Celtics know what's good for them, that won't change. As Michael Pina wrote for RealGM:
"Right now the Celtics are already one LeBron James injury from making the NBA Finals. They're way ahead of schedule and don't need to sacrifice the future unless the absolute perfect opportunity presents itself.
Why give up assets and key contributors who were good enough to win 48 games—before adding [Al] Horford—in a climate of constant player movement? Numerous star-caliber players will hit the market every summer for the foreseeable future, and Boston has enough cap flexibility to afford anyone they want.
"
Basically, there was no need for Thomas to let the above draft rip. He would have ended up deleting it, just like he did with his premature pitch to Kevin Durant.
Dion Waiters
Suddenly, Dwyane Wade's departure from the Miami Heat makes too much sense.
By the way, here's a close-up of Dion Waiters' unpublished work of art:
Russell Westbrook
Well, crap. Let's hope Westbrook's Snapchat draft eventually goes live. It's the perfect rebuttal to Durant's latest tattoo:
The nerve of him, right? Getting fresh ink less than a month after setting fire to the Oklahoma City Thunder's immediate future? Westbrook absolutely should cover his stomach in Steven Adams' face.
And if he didn't, someone else should—preferably Enes Kanter.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @danfavale.
