Draymond Green pokes fun at D'Angelo Russell's defense, offers insight

Warriors forward Draymond Green is one of the best quotes in the NBA. He speaks his mind and tells you like it is.

So when he was asked about D'Angelo Russell's defense after practice Wednesday, Green didn't exactly sugarcoat things.

"Watching him in practice yesterday, I told him, 'Oh you showed me you can defend. I didn't know you could. So that's the expectation now,'" the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year told reporters. "It's interesting because you just never know what's been asked of someone.

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"You can easily judge a situation and say, 'Oh man, he hasn't really defended much,' or, 'He's not that good on the defensive end.' But if he's never been asked to defend, it's kind of hard to make that judgment. 

"Obviously, we're going to ask him to defend. Yesterday, he was asked to defend and he showed that he can. I told him that'll be the expectation moving forward.

"Sorry, buddy, you showed it."

Russell had a career year in Brooklyn last season, averaging 21.1 points and 7.0 assists per game.

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He did register 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest, but he's pretty much universally regarded as a below average defender.

The 23-year-old will be under the microscope this season, but Draymond made sure to keep things in perspective.

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"We don't expect him to go out there and be Patrick Beverley or Kawhi Leonard," the three-time NBA champion added. "That's just not who you are (laughing).

"Just go out and be competitive on that side of the ball."

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