Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green isn’t someone who backs down easily. He doesn’t mind if it’s the regular season, the playoffs or the preseason. Fans saw that on-court trait of Green in Sunday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The 6-foot-6 forward got into a trash-talking battle with the Lakers’ wing, Dalton Knecht, during an exhibition game.
Throughout his career, the forward has been an extremely vocal player for his team. He stands up for himself and his teammates, making him one of the best agitators in the NBA.
During the game, he had an interaction with Knecht while the Lakers’ new center, Deandre Ayton, was shooting free throws. Green reminded the $4 million wing player about what happened to him last season, when he was traded by the LA team to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams. The California team wanted Williams to be their starting center after they acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.
Unfortunately for the former Tennessee star, the trade did not push through, and he remains with the franchise that drafted him.
The engagement started when Knecht seemingly attempted to trash-talk to the four-time NBA champion. It backfired since Draymond Green came prepared and humbled the youngster, putting him back in his place.
“Don’t talk s**t to me, you got traded and got traded back,” Green said.
Draymond Green to Dalton Knecht:
"Don’t talk sh*t to me, you got traded and got traded back” 😳
(h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 13, 2025
The trade involving Knecht did not push through after Williams failed his physical. Following that, the Lakers decided to keep the rookie forward and settled with Jaxson Hayes as the team’s starting center.
Draymond Green believes the Warriors are better positioned to win a championship this season
The Warriors are still determined to contend for the championship after an early exit last season. The group challenged the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets, to a seven-game series in the opening round of the postseason. However, they were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves after five games.
This year, they are motivated to do a better job, especially now that they’ll get to play with Jimmy Butler for a full season. During a conversation with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Green revealed that he believes the team is in a better position to win the title than it was in the previous season.
“We think we’re even in a better position now to win a championship than we were last year,” Green told ESPN. “Last year, Jimmy didn’t even know any defensive terminologies, we were just making it work. So I think we actually have an opportunity to build this thing the right way, and work towards a championship the way you have to do it.”
Aside from having Butler for the entire season, the Warriors also gave help to Green and Steph Curry by adding Al Horford and Seth Curry.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
