Draymond Green fumed at how NBA players are being treated by teams and the league after Andre Drummond was pulled out of the Cleveland Cavaliers' game with the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors cruised to a 129-98 win on Monday with Green registering 16 assists, tying his career high, and Steph Curry going off for 36 points.
But after the game Green talked little about the impressive outing and instead focused on the treatment of players.
The Cavs made a late call to sit center Drummond, who watched the game in street clothes, while they attempt to trade him.
Blake Griffin is in the same situation with the Detroit Pistons, with the team looking at moving him or buying him out.
Green was seen speaking to Drummond before tip-off and was frustrated when he faced the media after the game, also referencing a host of other players including James Harden.
"I would like to talk about something that's really bothering me," Green said. "And it's the treatment of players in this league.
"To watch Andre Drummond, before the game, sit on the sidelines, then go to the back, and to come out in street clothes because a team is going to trade him, it's b*******.
"Because when James Harden asked for a trade, and essentially dogged it, no one's going to fight back that James was dogging it his last days in Houston, but he was castrated for wanting to go to a different team.
"Everybody destroyed that man. Yet a team can come out and say, 'Oh, we want to trade a guy', and then that guy has to go sit, and if he doesn't stay professional, then he's a cancer and he's not good in someone's locker room, and he's the issue.
"We're seeing situations of Harrison Barnes getting pulled off the bench or DeMarcus Cousins finding out he's traded in an interview after the All-Star Game, and we continue to let this happen."
In previous seasons, Green was fined for giving his opinion that Devin Booker should leave the Phoenix Suns while Anthony Davis was punished for publicly requesting a trade.
He added: "I got fined for stating my opinion on what I thought should happen with another player, but teams can come out and continue to say, 'Oh, we're trading guys, we're not playing you.' Yet we're to stay professional.
"We talk all of this stuff about: 'You can't do this, you can't say this publicly.' Anthony Davis got fined I think $100,000 for demanding a trade, but you can say Andre Drummond's getting traded publicly and we're looking to trade him publicly, and he's to stay professional and just deal with it?
"And then when Kyrie Irving says, 'Oh, my mental health is off,' everybody goes crazy about that too. Do you not think that affects someone mentally?
"As much as we put into this game to be great, to come out here and be in shape, to produce for fans every single night, and most importantly, to help your team win, do you think that doesn't affect someone mentally?
"At some point, the players must be respected in these situations, and it's ridiculous, and I'm sick of seeing it."
Green and the 15-13 Warriors are at home against the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Jordan Clarkson and Ben Simmons were drawn into a high-scoring shoot-out as the NBA-leading Utah Jazz powered past the Philadelphia 76ers 134-123 in a mouth-watering showdown.
In a battle pitting the Western Conference-leading Jazz against Eastern Conference pacesetters, the Jazz came out on top thanks to Clarkson's 40 points.
Utah's Clarkson nailed a stunning eight three-pointers as he became first player to come off the bench and score 40 points in less than 30 minutes since 1991.
In response, 76ers All-Star Simmons fired up for a career-high 42 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and Tobias Harris put up a 36-point, 10-rebound double-double, but the 76ers could not keep up with the Jazz.
Simmons opened with a career-best quarter of 19 points to give the 76ers a seven-point lead at the first buzzer before Utah took over and claimed an eighth straight win, and a 19th win in 20 games.
Missing Joel Embiid to a back injury, the 76ers' third straight loss opened the door for the Brooklyn Nets to close the gap in the east and they obliged, posting a franchise-record 25 three-pointers in a 132-121 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Kyrie Irving put up 40 points and former MVP James Harden added a triple-double (29 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds) to lead the Nets to a third consecutive victory as the struggling Kings fell to a fourth straight defeat.
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has been cleared of a suspected rupture of his right Achilles tendon following an MRI scan.
Davis, who left Sunday's 122-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets after suffering an Achilles strain, will miss Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and will be further evaluated by the NBA champions upon his return to Los Angeles.
The seven-time All-Star missed two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder with tendonosis in his right heel before returning in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
After posting 35 points against the Grizzlies, Davis only lasted 14 minutes – finishing with 15 points – as the Lakers went down to the Nuggets.
Blake Griffin's tenure with the Detroit Pistons appears to be over.
The Pistons have agreed to hold Griffin out of the lineup while the franchise considers either trading the six-time All-Star or possibly buying out his contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
"After extensive conversation with Blake's representatives, it has been determined that we will begin working to facilitate a resolution regarding his future with the team that maximizes the interests of both parties," Pistons general manager Troy Weaver told ESPN on Monday.
"We respect all the effort Blake has put forth in Detroit and his career and will work to achieve a positive outcome for all involved."
The trade deadline is March 25 but finding a team willing to take on Griffin's hefty contract could be tricky, considering he is owed a remaining $36.6million this season, in addition to $39m in 2021-22.
"I am grateful to the Pistons for understanding what I want to accomplish in my career and for working together on the best path forward," Griffin told ESPN in a statement.
The Pistons have the NBA's fourth-youngest roster age at 24 years, 342 days. The team is looking to rebuild and give more minutes to its younger players, including 21-year-old rookie Saddiq Bey – the 19th pick of the 2020 draft.
Griffin was the first overall selection in the 2009 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, and was named the 2010-11 NBA Rookie of the Year, while averaging 22.5 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds. His 63 double-doubles as a rookie trail only the 68 amassed by Shaquille O'Neal for the Orlando Magic in 1992-93 for the most by a first-year player in the last 35 seasons.
Traded to Detroit during the 2017-18 season – just 33 games after signing a five-year, $171m max deal with Los Angeles – Griffin's Pistons career got off to a promising start.
He averaged a career-high 24.5 points and was named an All-Star in his first full season in Detroit in 2018-19 while helping the Pistons reach the playoffs. Injuries, however, have plagued him in the past few seasons and his production has declined dramatically.
He appeared in just 18 games in 2019-20, averaging 15.5 points and a career-low 4.7 rebounds, while averaging a personal-low 12.3 points and 5.2 boards in 20 games this season.
In his last game for the Pistons on Friday, Griffin finished with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting with six assists and four rebounds in 35 minutes in a 108-102 win over the Boston Celtics.
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis said he felt "completely fine" before aggravating an Achilles injury in the NBA champions' defeat to the Denver Nuggets as he awaits the results of an MRI scan.
Davis, who posted 15 points in 14 minutes, suffered an Achilles strain in the Lakers' 122-105 loss to the Nuggets on Sunday.
The seven-time All-Star was held out of the second half as the Lakers saw their seven-game winning streak snapped.
Davis, who returned from a two-game absence caused by Achilles tendonitis on Friday, will undergo a scan on Monday.
"Just driving, I think that last step kind of re-aggravated the injury I already had," he said. "Now, it feels like an Achilles sprain.
"Got an MRI tomorrow and try to figure out the next steps to get on the floor."
Davis – who insisted he and the Lakers followed all the right steps for his initial return – added: "Today was the first day that it felt completely fine. I didn't feel it at all this morning, afternoon, pre-game. I felt like I was heading in the right direction.
"The treatment and rehab side. Another setback but it's part of the game. More so frustrated that I couldn't go out there and play, but you don't want to mess around with this type of injury. Trying to figure out the best steps.
"I felt great coming back the first time against Memphis [Grizzlies]. I'll do the same thing, the same steps to get it back right. Be smarter with it, I was smart the first time, but even smarter this time. Up the treatment more to get it back where it used to be to help the team."
Superstar Lakers team-mate LeBron James, who led the Lakers with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, added: "Just want him to be healthy and get back to full strength. All I care is about his health.
"It's definitely deflating anytime you lose a big player – a big guy on your team.
"We have a lot of things that's built in around AD and a lot of other players. When he goes down, you have to switch up. That hurt us."
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant will miss at least two games due to a mild left hamstring strain.
The Nets confirmed the injury on Sunday, a day after Durant returned from the NBA's health and safety protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic to help Brooklyn past the Golden State Warriors 134-117.
Durant, who posted 20 points against former team the Warriors in his first game back in the Bay Area, will sit out Monday's clash with the Sacramento Kings and Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns.
Former NBA MVP and two-time champion Durant is averaging 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game for the Nets this season.
Durant, who sat out his first season in Brooklyn due to an Achilles injury sustained in the 2019 NBA Finals during his time with the Warriors, has missed nine of 28 games in 2020-21.
The star-studded Nets (16-12) are third in the Eastern Conference following back-to-back wins.
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