Prior to suffering a back injury that has him sidelined currently, Draymond Green was enjoying a bounceback season as the anchor of a terrific Golden State Warriors defense and one of the lead facilitators for the offense. The three-time All-Star was back to playing at a level that had him in the conversation for a fourth selection, and shook off questions of whether he was still capable of contributing at an elite level that had popped up in the last two seasons.
With Green playing at such a high level, his future career in television seemed to be put on hold, but Turner Sports announced on Thursday that Green has signed a multi-year deal with the company to be a regular contributor to Inside the NBA and other programs as an active player.
As his schedule aligns, Green will join the Sports Emmy Award winning studio team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith as an analyst, making select appearances – a combination of remote contributions and, at times, in person – throughout the season. Green will also contribute to various other programs, special projects and content initiatives.
Green has done spot work for Inside the NBA in seasons past, including the last two postseasons, but this agreement formalizes his partnership with Turner, as they lock up exclusivity with the highly coveted star. Green will make his debut this season with the Inside crew following Timberwolves-Warriors tonight for the postgame show.
For Turner, it certainly seems as though they are setting themselves up for a rather seamless transition of bringing Green in as a full-time analyst whenever he retires, as Green certainly appears to be the heir apparent to Charles Barkley (who has insisted he’s retiring at 60, but few, including Shaq, believe him). In any case, we’ll be seeing more of Green on TNT, where he has always been terrific, providing some of the best actual basketball analysis the show ever offers while also being able to trade jabs and have fun with Chuck and the fellas as well as anyone.
