Draymond Green issues apology to Karl-Anthony Towns over skipped game comments after learning the truth

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has issued an apology to Karl-Anthony Towns.

A successful road trip for the Golden State Warriors included a statement 114-102 win at the New York Knicks. And while the Warriors fully deserved their victory, it was also notable that the Knicks’ star player Karl-Anthony Towns was missing.

Towns was absent, and while the reasons were not disclosed at the time, it was later revealed via the New York Post that a close friend of girlfriend Jordyn Woods had died of cancer.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau admitted that Towns ‘needed some time’, before his return to the team to face the LA Lakers on March 6.

Warriors star Draymond Green had claimed via his podcast that he had heard Karl-Anthony Towns skipped the game because he did not want to face up against Jimmy Butler, his former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate.

Green speculated: “Some would say he didn’t play because Jimmy was in the building… they said KAT ain’t play because Jimmy came to town.”

The Warriors’ veteran’s comments were clumsy and ill-informed, and he was notified about them at his post-game press conference following the Warriors 121-119 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Draymond Green issued an immediate apology to Karl-Anthony Towns after learning the truth over why he missed the Knicks’ match-up with the Warriors.

Green seemed sincere in his apology, yet also justified making the claims by saying he was simply relaying what he had been told.

He said: “Oh, man. That’s unfortunate. I’m sorry to hear that. That sucks. But my comments that I made, was that ‘people I heard was this. And that’s what I heard.’

“So I do send my well wishes to him and his family. You know, none of us. It’s inevitable. We all experience death in one way or another, and we’ll all experience it in the same way one day. So it’s unfortunate. You never wish that on anybody.”

The outspoken Warriors star does not intend to tone down his approach on or off the court. On it, he says he has become even more aggressive since Jimmy Butler joined the team.

He added: “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis must go on. So I definitely wish them well and wish their family well.

“And I mean it. You know, we all go through that. And it’s never easy for anyone. But the Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis will go on.”

Whether Knicks fans buy his apology is another matter. We would suspect not…