By Chantz Martin
Published March 22, 2023
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green attempted to put an end to rumors surrounding teammate Andrew Wiggins, who has been away from the team for over a month.
Shortly before the Warriors went into the NBA All-Star break, Wiggins left the team due to an undisclosed family matter. His return to the Warriors this season remains uncertain.
In a passionate rant on "The Draymond Green Show" podcast, the four-time NBA champion defended Wiggins.
Green also mentioned the possibility of being without Wiggins and Gary Payton II for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.
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Andrew Wiggins, left, and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors during their 2022 Victory Parade and Rally June 20, 2022, at Chase Center in San Francisco. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Payton has been sidelined the entire season with a right adductor injury.
Green said that whether the rumors about Wiggins were true or not, he believed it was inappropriate.
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"I want to let you all know about how absolutely ridiculous most of you people are at life," Green said. "The fact that a rumor about Andrew Wiggins — I don’t know if it’s true. I’m not here to confirm whether it’s true or not. I really don’t care, like it ain’t got nothing to do with me.
"You hear stuff like that, and you care for like him and her, like and their children. So I care from that perspective. But whether what y’all said is true or not really has no bearing on my life nor does it have any bearing on your life."
Green added that Wiggins' personal life should be off limits.
"The fact that people are so bad at evaluating basketball that you start to run with someone’s personal life, trying to decide why they’re not playing basketball," Green said.
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) shoots against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Wiggins last appeared in a game against the Washington Wizards Feb. 13.
Last week, Mychal Johnson, Wiggins’ girlfriend and the mother of his two young children, spoke out about the rumors. "The internet is really a sick place," she wrote with a vomiting emoji.
On Friday, Johnson took to Twitter and attempted to debunk the rumors, saying, "The farthest thing from the truth. It’s sad y’all even doing this."
Green challenged critics to provide evidence before fueling rumors that pertained to Wiggins' personal life.
"I’m not here whether to say it’s true or false," the Warriors big man said. "I don’t know — not my business. But point being, it’s not yours either.
"Y’all are so thirsty to know what’s going on in someone’s life that that becomes the thing. You better have some cold hard evidence if you’re going to make that a thing. And, quite frankly, I’ve just seen people talking. I’ve seen no evidence of anything. … That’s insane. That’s nuts. … With no confirmation or nothing."
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Green also described the rumors as "cringeworthy."
"Sometimes people disgust me. We live in a disgusting world. … Like I said, whether it’s true or false, I don’t know if the world will ever know. Quite frankly, I don’t think it matters for the world to know if it is or isn’t. … People’s kids have to live with that. … It’s cringeworthy. … It actually makes me lose more and more hope for humanity."
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, left, celebrates with forward Draymond Green (23) during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics in San Francisco June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Wiggins was selected No. 1 overall in the 2014 draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He joined the Warriors in 2020 and was named to his first All-Star team last year. He won the first NBA Championship of his career last June.
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He signed a four-year, $109 million extension with Golden State in October.
In the 37 games he has played this season, Wiggins is averaging 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/warriors-draymond-green-addresses-disgusting-andrew-wiggins-rumors