Draymond Green: China situation won't silence players

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green does not believe either he or his teammates will stop speaking out on causes they believe in, despite the backlash the NBA has received over the past week in the wake of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's tweet in support of Hong Kong.

"I think any issue that touches you, per se, guys are going to speak out about it, as Daryl did with this situation,"Green said after Thursday's shootaround in advance of a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. "When you speak out on an issue, it's America, so you have freedom of speech. You've never really seen a reaction like this because we all understand that it's America, and whatever your position is on certain things, if you want to take that position, you take that position."

Like Warriors teammate Stephen Curry said Wednesday, Green said he intends to learn more about the situation in China before commenting in more detail.

The usually outspoken Green also did not offer an opinion when asked about President Donald Trump calling out Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Wednesday while discussing the situation between the NBA and China.

"I don't really react to things of that nature," Green said.

Green said he thinks the NBA has handled the ongoing situation in China "well," as Chinese companies continue to announce that they are halting sponsorship deals with the league. Green specifically pointed out the way NBA commissioner Adam Silver is dealing with the situation.

"The way Adam has acted in this situation is no different than he's acted in any other situation that's taken place over the course of his tenure," Green said. "He stayed true to exactly who he is, who he's been, and I have a respect for that."

Green's statements echo what Curry expressed in the immediate aftermath of Trump calling out Kerr. Curry said he did not believe the backlash from the situation in China would preclude him or his teammates from speaking out.

"It's a league-wide situation," Curry said. "Our presence in China, it's just a different conversation than what we normally [have] -- Coach talking about gun violence or gender equality or things that for us, being spokespeople for people who can't speak for themselves within our community is that that makes a huge impact. ... I'm sure this [story] is not going away, so we'll come back to it."

Kerr is expected to address the media for the first time since Trump's comments prior to Thursday's game.