Warriors’ Draymond Green takes defense, trash talk up a notch

Not even Kevin Durant is spared Draymond Green’s running mouth. No way. With that 7-foot-5 wingspan, might KD be dominant on a volleyball court?

“I saw him actually playing volleyball, beach volleyball, in Brazil. He was bad,” Green said matter-offactly, then grinned, “really bad. Yeah, he was terrible.”

Green has taken his trash-talking to another level this postseason along with his defense. They tend to go hand in hand, and he pushes it right to the limit with the referees — to the delight of Durant and the rest of his teammates who are fueled by his ferocity. Green has also blocked a jaw-dropping 19 shots in just five playoff games.

“Hey, K, you told ’em you love my trash talk? Respect, bro!” Green hollered to Durant the other day as KD fired up shots on the court some 15 feet away. “Tell ‘em how I was talking to you today. ... I locked him up one play.”

“I think it definitely fuels the team,” Green said. “It just brings that energy, that life, that competitive nature to the game. Already playing with a team full of competitors, not like they need much anyway. But everybody needs that boost every now and then.”

The NBA fined Houston Rockets center Nene $15,000 for escalating a fight with San Antonio Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. The league announced the fine Wednesday, hours before Game 2 tipped off. The scuffle occurred at the end of the third quarter on Monday night.

After a disappointing season ended with a first-round playoff loss, the Atlanta Hawks are evaluating possible changes in their front office. The current setup, in which coach Mike Budenholzer has authority over personnel matters with assistance from general manager Wes Wilcox, could be facing a shake-up. There was even a report Wednesday that Wilcox had been fired, which was denied by the team.