Draymond Green wants to clear the air.
The Warriors veteran and occasional “Inside the NBA” analyst received widespread backlash after taking aim at Charles Barkley’s Rockets tenure earlier this week.
And while many interpreted Green’s remarks as a dig at Barkley’s final years in the NBA, the Golden State forward is claiming he didn’t mean it that way.
“The reason that I would even say that is what Chuck makes fun about in his career is actually the last two years in Houston,” Green said on his podcast.
“Everybody tried to make it like this whole ‘Ahh man Draymond think he better than Chuck.’ I found that interesting because what it shows is how bad y’all want me to do bad.”
After Barkley said on ESPN that “sports are for young people” and “it’s over for the Warriors,” Green, 36, fired back at the Hall of Famer.
“I think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform,” he said.
While co-analyst Kenny Smith asked Green to clarify his comments while on the air, Green said on his eponymous show that the former guard actually told him in a subsequent phone call that his comment was “hilarious” and that he didn’t hear it correctly live.
“The disrespect ain’t the intent, so if that’s the way it’s viewed as public disrespect, I can gladly [publicly] apologize, disrespect wasn’t my intent,” Green added.
To his point, Barkley previously said on the “Dan Patrick Show” that he “sucked as a player” during his last two years in Houston.
Still, he averaged 16.5 points and 12.2 rebounds over his four years in Houston — marks that would be career highs for Green.
“I never punch down. Draymond’s a good player,” Barkley said on “Bickley & Marotta.”
“We’re not on the same level.”
