The NBA's punishment of the Los Angeles Clippers and their front office over the salary-cap circumvention case has sparked plenty of discussion.
While the organization received major penalties, including a $30 million fine and the loss of five future first-round picks, Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000 without a suspension. Now, Draymond Green has weighed in on one of the strongest reactions to Leonard's punishment.
On a recent episode of "The Draymond Green Show," the Golden State Warriors star addressed comments made by former Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari about Leonard.
Green pushed back strongly against Gallinari's claim that Leonard's actions changed the direction of his career.
"To walk around with this type of vendetta because you got traded, that also wasn't Danilo Gallinari's first time being traded. So for him to sit and act as if Kawhi Leonard ruined his career, that's [expletive]," Green said during the podcast.
Green also brought up Gallinari's own reputation around the league, describing him as talented but suggesting that he was not always viewed as someone who gave everything to basketball.
"Gallinari is one of those guys who was extremely talented, who would give you fits, but was a little lazy, was not known as someone who gives their all to the game of basketball. One of those guys who comes in with a random back injury."
"One of those guys who isn't always in tip-top basketball shape because the word around him is he didn't really care. I think Gallinari would choose Paul George over himself, and if you won't… That's crazy. That's ridiculous," Green added.
The Warriors veteran also made it clear that Leonard was never in a position to personally force the Clippers to make a specific trade involving Gallinari.
"Kawhi Leonard does not have the power to trade a player. He can request, 'Hey, I want y'all to go out there and get this guy,' but he doesn't have the ability to make that trade. That franchise has to agree, just like they had to agree that they were gonna circumvent the cap," Green explained on the podcast.
This all started on September 13, during an episode of the Italian podcast "A Cresta Alta," where Gallinari said he didn't think $700,000 was nearly enough. He argued Leonard should have been forced to pay the full $50 million, with that money going to charity instead.
"He should pay all of that $50 million. He changed the trajectory of my career and put me in a difficult situation by sending me away from Los Angeles …"
"What happened to my NBA career wasn't decided by a general manager or an owner, but by a player who decided that team wasn't good enough and wanted something else… He should give that money to charity. He should pay all $50 million, not just $700,000," Gallinari said on the podcast (Translated from Italian).
Gallinari's NBA journey started when the Knicks took him sixth overall in the 2008 draft. From there, he bounced around the league, suiting up for the Nuggets , Clippers, Thunder, Hawks , Wizards , Pistons , and Bucks before his career wound down.
His time with the Clippers is really where this whole beef traces back to. Gallinari had two solid seasons in LA before everything shifted in 2019. That's when Leonard decided to sign with the Clippers, but only if the team went out and got him, Paul George, too.
To make that happen, the Clippers put together a massive trade package headed to Oklahoma City . Gallinari was a part of the package, and the Clippers even sent away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a pile of future first-round picks and swaps.
That move is clearly still sitting with Gallinari all these years later, even though, as Green pointed out, the decision to trade him ultimately belonged to the front office, not Leonard.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
