Green on technical foul: ‘That’s crazy’

A lengthy history of technical fouls has earned Draymond Green a less-than-enviable reputation among referees. Green reckons that the latest example of officials targeting him came in the first quarter of the Warriors’ win Monday afternoon over Cleveland, when he was assessed a technical for asking a question.

Midway through the first period, after Cavaliers point guard Jose Calderon was called for a foul, Warriors forward Kevin Durant appeared to shove Calderon with the ball. The problem: Little more than a minute earlier, Durant had gotten a technical for jawing with a referee. Giving him a second technical for moving Calderon would’ve meant ejecting Durant from the NBA’s featured game on its most-viewed day of the regular season.

When officials opted not to discipline Durant, Calderon unleashed a verbal tirade on them. Green, who was standing nearby, asked the referees how Calderon could yell at them and not get a technical. Almost immediately, Green was assessed a technical.

“That’s crazy to me,” Green said after the game. “That looked like a shouting match between an umpire and a major leaguer. Like, that’s how it looked. … Sometimes they get thrown out, and sometimes they go back to the bench. He didn’t get thrown out. He just went back to the dugout. So, I’m wondering how he got to go back to the dugout and not get a technical. I don’t know, but I got one.”

Green and Durant are tied with New Orleans center DeMarcus Cousins for the league lead with eight technical fouls. Sneaker wars: Green wore custom Nike sneakers that featured Arthur, the cartoon aardvark, on each heel playing next to a Christmas tree.

It seemed a not-so-subtle jab at LeBron James, a known fan of Arthur. Asked after the game about the shoes, Green claimed his trolling was unintentional.

“My (manager Jacquail Jacox) brought me the shoes yesterday,” Green said. “I was getting a haircut. He was like, ‘Hey, this guy made these for you for Christmas. Wear them tomorrow.’ … I was like, ‘Oh, I might wear them.’ Then, I woke up today and I was in a better mood, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll wear those.’ That’s why I wore them. I had no input on them, honestly.

“I wish I could’ve took credit for them, but I hate lying. You know what’s crazy? I didn’t even think about that, to troll LeBron. I didn’t even think about that. But dang, that was good. How about that?”