Being an NBA insider can sometimes be a tough job. It often involves covering a team for a while and then moving on to another team based on what your company directs. Some teams or players might give you a hard time, making you not want to cover them again. Chris Haynes, TNT’s veteran insider, shared a similar story about the Golden State Warriors on the ‘Jefe Island’ podcast.

Haynes discussed how he built relationships with the Cavs and LeBron James during his two years as an insider for the team. When he switched to covering the Warriors, he worried that his past with the Cavs might make it difficult for him to earn the Warriors’ trust. Despite his concerns, he took the job at ESPN.

However, on his first day in the Warriors’ locker room, Draymond Green made it clear he didn’t trust Haynes. “I don’t trust you, bro,” Green had said. When Haynes asked why, Draymond replied, “You a Cavs spy. LeBron and them sent you over here to spy on us, we ain’t messing with y’all and Imma make sure nobody talk with you”

Draymond Green is known for his bluntness and trash talking. Green usually say what he has to say, no matter how harsh it may be. It doesn’t matter if you’re a player or an NBA insider. In Haynes case, you can’t really blame Draymond for taking a suspicious stance. It was a time of intense rivalry between the Cavaliers and the Warriors. If LeBron and his team knew the Warriors’ plans or how they were preparing against them, the Cavaliers would definitely have an edge.

However, Draymond could have been more subtle and avoided ruining Haynes’s introduction to the Warriors’ locker room. Even though they got along afterwards, the veteran insider left the Warriors after two years.

Why did Chris Haynes leave the Warriors?

Despite the rough start with Draymond Green, things went smoothly for the veteran insider afterward. However, the concern about players not trusting him might have lingered, and it’s hard to place blame on anyone in this situation.

“But it was just initially I did not want to take it because that reason and I did not want to take it because I wanna a be a national guy,” Chris Haynes said about why he left the Warriors. Chris Haynes had already covered significant teams and players, like the Blazers, LeBron James, and the Cavaliers, which were big highlights in his career.

After covering the Warriors for two years, Chris Haynes’s ESPN contract was up. Although ESPN offered him a new deal, they wanted him to stay with the Warriors. That’s when Haynes told his agent to start looking for something new. Did he make the right decision? What do you think?