The Knicks are in the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in what will be the final game of their five-game West Coast road trip. While the game itself is enough for NBA fans to want to tune in, the controversy surrounding Draymond Green and his comments about Karl-Anthony Towns has added a layer of intrigue to the matchup.
The outspoken Warriors forward made news when he suggested Towns did not want to play Golden State when the two teams matched up last week at The Garden. On his podcast, Green said Towns wanted to avoid Jimmy Butler.
Of course, Towns missed that game due to the loss of a family friend. When Green was asked about his comments after Golden State's game against the Brooklyn Nets on March 7, Green was surprised and offered condolences but didn’t apologize for his baseless accusation.
Josh Hart was asked about Green’s comments Friday and said the team is ready to move on, but wishes the former Defensive Player of the Year was more responsible.
“I think KAT handled it the right way,” Hart told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “For me, I have my own podcast and all that stuff. Whenever I’m wrong about something, I’ll sit there and say I was (wrong). For me, I wish he kind of did that – just apologized. You don’t got to be embarrassed or feel like apologizing is when you’re wrong isn’t manly. I wish he did. Now that’s in the past and we’re moving on.”
Bondy asked Towns earlier this week for his reaction, and the first-year Knick stayed positive.
“I choose to approach that with love and not hate. That’s all I really care about,” Towns said. “I hope no one has to go through what I went through and those kids—and what those kids had to go through. Losing a parent is tough."
The Knicks enter Saturday’s matchup with a 2-2 record on the road trip and hope to finish it on a high note without their captain, Jalen Brunson, who is out for a few weeks due to an ankle sprain. Entering Friday, the Knicks (42-23) sit five games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Draymond Green suggests on his podcast that Karl-Anthony Towns missed Tuesday’s game vs GSW because he wanted to avoid Jimmy Butler. Green casually throwing this out there on his platform without researching the situation is extremely irresponsible: pic.twitter.com/UkUpMp2111
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) March 6, 2025
