[95.7 The Game] “Draymond is one of my favorite people in the world because he’s loyal, someone who will always have your back, and he holds everyone accountable…It’s hard for me to hear the way people have spoken about Draymond.” – @FestusEzeli w/ @WillardAndDibs

The quote in the title continues: “I’ve seen him behind closed doors, I know what he is, I know what he stands for.”

This was overall a really great interview with Festus. Some other quotes from it are below. YouTube link to the full interview is in the tweet.

**On Dray’s comments in his podcast about failing the organization:**

The thing about basketball is it’s so all-encompassing like you don’t get a chance to really reflect like you can. I thought it was really important for him to to have this hard reset take time to to really go back and reflect on what he means to the game of basketball, what he means to the NBA, what he means to the Golden State Warriors. And you can hear it in his voice.

What I heard was someone with real remorse and really feeling the effects of his actions. That whole podcast was him talking about the effects on his team, his teammates, especially Steph when Stephen A called Steph out and said Steph is a bad leader based on these actions. We all know that’s not true like you can try to find and a way to pick at Steph but you can’t find anything, he’s somebody who shows up every day as an incredible human and Draymond is very cognizant of that so he showed remorse and I was very happy to hear that. And for the Warriors, I know they’re really excited to have him back, all his teammates, everyone was excited, you could see it yesterday.

**On what the team missed the most in terms of on the basketball court and the things that Draymond will bring that they’ve been so lacking:**

Draymond is known for being a do-it-all – a playmaker, a rebounder, he runs the floor and does all of the things that a center can do while at the same time playing the guard position bringing the ball up. He revolutionized the position at the power forward spot because he can guard and switch off to the point guards all the way to the five in the post so there is so much that he does for this Warriors team. It’s built around Steph, Klay, and Draymond and without him they’ve really looked like a team without the heartbeat, which is what he is for this team.

**On Draymond’s bond with Bob Myers:**

I’ll tell you guys this about any team if you get to be around each other through an NBA season you will get close, really really close with your teammates, with your coaches, with your general manager. And this (the time Bob and Draymond spent together) is not just one season, Bob Myers drafted Draymond and myself in 2012. So, they’ve been through all the battles together – they’ve been through a losing season together just three seasons ago before going on to win a championship again after Kevin Durant left and they said the Warriors will never win again, they went through the first championship and the first struggles, and so this journey that they’ve been on, it doesn’t just create friendships, it creates brotherhoods.

This is the reason why I’m here, I’m still – it’s still a brotherhood for me, and you can feel it every time I talk about this team because I know what it takes to win an NBA championship. People don’t understand I think sometimes what they’re watching when they see a team win, it takes so much. It’s more than mental fortitude, it’s you’re pushing beyond pain, and you’re doing it with all your brothers and you all come into an agreement of what it takes to win, to sacrifice, to go win a championship. To go win in this league and to do it continuously it takes everyone to come together. So Bob Myers may be gone but he still has his imprints because like I said, that brotherhood and that bond stays forever.

**On if the Warriors can right the ship:**

It’s gonna take sacrifice from everybody on the team to right the ship, but it’s possible. I just want the fans to recognize that what they’re watching is unprecedented there’s not really anybody in the NBA who’s trying to do what the Warriors are doing (as far as being a dynasty trying to incorporate young guys and new guys to prolong the dynasty). And the fact that the ship is rocky, all it takes is a few games to go the right way for things to click and the Warriors to have the confidence that they need to be back. It’s just you got to be patient as things come together.

by taygads