Draymond Green once accused Chris Haynes of being ‘Cavs spy’ sent by LeBron James: ‘I don’t trust you’

Longtime NBA reporter Chris Haynes recently recalled an instance when Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green accused him of being a “spy” for the Cleveland Cavaliers sent by LeBron James and company.

“So, I take the job, and I remember I go into the locker room for the first time with the Warriors,” Haynes said. “Draymond was like, ‘I don’t trust you, bro.’ I thought he was playin’. He was like, ‘I don’t trust you, bro.'”

Haynes revealed what happened next.

“He said, ‘You a Cavs spy. LeBron and them sent you over here to spy on us. We ain’t messin’ with y’all, and I’ma make sure nobody talk with you.’ He was dead serious, bro,” Haynes recalled. “He was dead serious. I couldn’t believe it. I’m like, ‘Dray, I’m just a reporter, bro. I don’t have no rooting interest — I’m not, bro.'”

After covering the Cavs for a couple of years and getting to chronicle James’ return to Cleveland, Haynes took a job covering the Warriors, which might have been when he and Green had the exchange in question.

These days, Haynes is about to become a free agent. His time with TNT Sports and Bleacher Report will reportedly come to an end soon. He has worked for the outlets for the past five years.

When looking back at all the times the Warriors and Cavaliers faced off against one another in the NBA Finals in the previous decade, it starts to make sense why Green was wary of the possibility of Haynes being a spy for Cleveland, even if it was a far-fetched theory.

There was a point in time when the Warriors and Cavaliers seemingly had the biggest rivalry in the NBA. For four consecutive years, from 2015 through 2018, Cleveland and Golden State met in the championship series.

For the most part, the Warriors dominated their NBA Finals matchups versus the Cavaliers. Golden State came out on top over James and company in the years 2015, 2017 and 2018. If it weren’t for a historic collapse in 2016, Green and the Warriors would have defeated James in four consecutive years. But that wasn’t hold it unfolded.

The Warriors held a commanding 3-1 series lead in the 2016 NBA Finals but then proceeded to drop the final three games of the best-of-seven series. James earned the Finals MVP award for the Cavaliers after he averaged 29.7 points per contest on 49.4 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent shooting from 3-point range along with 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per contest.

By now, James is long removed from his days playing for the Cavaliers organization. He has spent each of his last six seasons playing for the storied Los Angeles Lakers organization, where he won a title in 2020.