Draymond Green’s Flagrant 1 foul apparently stung Santi Aldama. Green’s subsequent taunting both on the court and on his podcast didn’t.

Shortly after the Golden State Warriors forward was given a Flagrant 1 foul for pulling Aldama down by his neck on a fast break in late October, Green taunted the Grizzlies forward in various ways. Green called him “soft” along with a string of expletives. Green skipped and taunted Aldama after he missed the two free throws. Then on his podcast, Green called Aldama a “sucker” and “acted like a complete clown” for selling a call.

Nearly a month later, Aldama sounded more amused than hurt over Green’s words.

“He loves to podcast,” Aldama told EssentiallySports about the 35-year-old Green. “He’s probably just thinking about life after basketball.”

After noting that Green told an inaccurate side of his story, Aldama addressed the substance of his criticisms.

“I was already dealing with a shoulder injury,” Aldama said. “That only made it worse. It’s hard to sell a call that was so obvious. It’s a Flagrant 1. I don’t really need to sell a Flagrant 1.”

Aldama spoke to EssentiallySports about many topics beyond Green’s Flagrant 1 foul and subsequent podcast criticism. The Loyola Greyhounds alum talked about the state of the Grizzlies with their ninth-place standing in the Western Conference, Zach Edey’s injury and how the team handled Ja Morant’s tension with coach Tuomas Iisalo. The 24-year-old Aldama spoke about his own growth in his fifth NBA season, including adjusting without Edey, how the Spaniard’s experience in international basketball prepared him for Iisalo’s system and his recent three-year, $52 million extension. Aldama also shared stories about his father playing in the 1992 Olympics against the Dream Team, Pau Gasol’s influence on him and his outlook for Spain’s future Olympic success.

Editor’s note: The following interview was edited and condensed. Aldama talked about Jaren Jackson Jr. in a group setting. Otherwise, the following transcript is an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports.

How do you evaluate the season so far?

Aldama: “It’s been a rough start with injuries, good stretches and bad stretches. But I think we’ve done a good job with staying poised and stressing the work and everything coming together. We’ve stayed through it. Even some games we won, we hadn’t made shots but we did the right stuff. That speaks highly of the group.”

What are some notable examples of you all sticking through it amid the ups and downs?

Aldama: “In the first game against New Orleans in the first half, the shot quality was super high. Some teams go away from doing the right stuff because it didn’t work. But for us, we have gotten the shots that we’ve wanted to. But it’s a matter that we haven’t made them. The fact that the group trust the work in daily is really important, especially in a long season. The most important thing is trusting the work every day and not going away from it when adversity hits.”

Speaking of adversity, how have Zach’s spirits been since his injury?

Aldama: “He’s great. At the beginning of the season, he was out. But he was obviously very involved. Now it’s the same thing. It’s not easy for him to be out, especially with the good impact he’s had on our game and how he changes things. But he’s been great, man. He’s a great teammate. He’s a great person. Just having him around without him playing is positive for the group.”

How so?

Aldama: “He’s positive. He’s talking sh– with us. He’s staying involved. That’s important. It’s not easy in this league when you see guys don’t travel because they’re focusing on their rehab. He’s focused on rehab 100%. But he’s also with the team all the time. That’s very important. When he comes back, he’s so important for this group. It’s a fact that he hasn’t been on the court. But mentally, he’s been on the court. That’s super important.”

What trash talk is he saying to you all?

Aldama: “I probably can’t say (laughs). But you make sure that you don’t mess up when he’s looking. That’s important.”

You’ve already had an important role on this team. But with his absence, how have you adjusted your game?

Aldama: “It’s not easy. At the beginning of the season, I didn’t expect to play at the ‘5’ at all from the conversations with the coaching staff. But the group needed me to do it. It’s been hard to adjust at times. But it’s also been seamless because of the work we’ve put in and I’ve been with Jaren [Jackson Jr.] my whole life. I’ve played the 4, and he’s played the 5. Now we’ve kind of switched it up. But it’s about having honest conversations and seeing where I can help the group at all times. With being one of the most veteran guys on the team and having been here as one of the longest, it’s important for me to be that voice and constant amid the chaos.”

You’re very versatile. But what are the things that have been seamless for you and what are the things that have been challenging for you?

Aldama: “The challenge is mainly with the way we run the floor. I’m used to getting behind and starting in transition for us. But as a ‘5,’ you’re more in the middle of the court and trying to set some screens and find maybe a pop, a roll or a cut to get the corners open. As a ‘4,’ you’re more playing off closeouts. Where my advantage lies on offense has been different. But I’ve been talking with guys that play that position. I’ve been talking to Ja. He’s been great for us there. Obviously, my advantage is different than his. But he understands the spacing. We’re a connected group that really cares about winning, even though we haven’t reached the level we want to be at yet. Defensively, I think that I’ve stepped up and have been more aggressive and have been getting more deflections. I’m banging harder and feeling more comfortable with my body.”

Before the season, you said you wanted to get your game to another level defensively, especially with individual matchups. Where do you feel you are at with that?

Aldama: “The most important one is feeling comfortable with my body and moving around. Sliding, I feel way better. Obviously, that comes with being older. I’m 24 now. I’m not 20. So that helps. But I’m trying to lock into tendencies. I’ve guarded Kawhi [Leonard] a bunch. I guarded other great guys that are tough, tough matchups. Obviously, by no means am I the main on-ball defender. But when my number is called, I think I step up. I’m a good team defender and talk to the guys and make sure everybody is in the right spot.”

What was it like guarding Kawhi? [Per tracking data, Aldama held Leonard to a combined 3-for-11 mark from the field in three games]

Aldama: “It was not easy. It wasn’t fun (laughs). But I’m trusting my teammates. I know I have to do a good job one-on-one and make sure that he doesn’t blow by. And then I have to know where I want to send him. Knowing that my teammates will be there, if I send him one way, I have full trust that somebody will be there to help. They trust that I’ll do my job and send them to the shift.”

As one of the vets and leaders, when Tuomas and Ja had their flareup, how did you approach that situation?

Aldama: “Things that happen internally are obviously internal. But we all care about winning. Any type of disagreement that happens, it happens on a daily basis. We’re at practice and somebody can make a different rotation. We just address it in the moment and try to figure out how we can win. But we’re trying to be honest and be constant amid the chaos. We know that we’re all here to win. I’m from a small island in Spain. I’m not in the States just trying to live my life. I’m here trying to win a championship. The more honest we are with each other, the earlier that we’re going to reach our goal.”

How was Ja’s spirit during his injury?

Aldama: “He’s been great. When you’re out, it’s super tough. The season moves so fast. You may be out for two weeks, and you’re missing 10 games. So it’s not easy. But with him being involved in practice every day and on the bench cheering us, he’s being that guy and that voice. That’s very important. When you have a guy who cares so much, especially one of your star players, it’s important for the group.”

What have been his messages?

Aldama: “Basketball insight is the main thing. He’s a guy that seems extroverted. But he’s very much to himself. So when he talks, everybody listens. When he talks, he has a real message to send, especially with the point guards. We haven’t had real point guards. We’ve had Cam [Johnson] and Vince [Williams Jr.]. They’ve been doing a great job. But they’re really like two guards. So Ja has been talking to them about how to find the advantages. That has been important for the group.”

So he’s more about tactical feedback than some big picture speech?

Aldama: “Yeah. At first, with four guards out, it’s not easy. We’ve had bigs out. We’ve had guards out. It’s not easy for teams having to play out of position. But we’re trusting what we’re doing every day. Having Zach, Ja or whoever else out, they’re still trying to help the guys out in different ways. It’s important. We have selfless players that want the team to win as opposed to worrying about individual success.”

What got Jaren going against the Clippers?[31 points on 13-for-18 shooting, 5 blocks]

Aldama: “There’s something in the water in LA, I guess. (laughs). He’s a great player. He had an advantage. He saw it and took the opportunity. He just went for it. They had no answers. When a team doesn’t have answers for a certain player, you just got to milk it. He did a great job.”

Tuomas said that Jaren is ‘a matchup nightmare.’ But considering his defensive responsibilities, how do you see him manage that this season?

Aldama: “Yeah, it’s not easy because you normally see guys that are very good offensively, take possessions off defensively or guard players that are not as involved. But he had a bunch of blocks [against the Clippers]. Those were big-time blocks, too. He works really hard. So seeing a complete game from him is pretty exciting.”

What defensive pointers has he given you?

Aldama: “His tracking off-ball. He’s super good when he’s running around. He excels off-the-ball when he’s on the weakside. So you pretty much have to send it to him, don’t foul and he’ll clean it up. That’s how he won Defensive Player of the Year. He has that feel. We got to help him be in that situation more.”

You’ve said that you’ve liked Tuomas’ ideas as first-year head coach. What has that collaboration been like so far?

Aldama: “He’s obviously very numbers-driven. He reads the game at a very high level. I’ve been lucky enough to be with teammates with the [Spanish] national team that have played a very similar style of basketball. He coached for Paris, and Valencia plays a very similar style. So throughout the whole summer, I spent time with three or four guys that played that same style of basketball. We had a sneak peek with the last nine games and the playoffs. But now being back with Coach, I’m chopping it up and understanding where to get the advantages and what they’re doing in Europe and how it translates to NBA offenses.”

What was the prep work you did ahead of time?

Aldama: “It’s mainly how you transition from offense to defense and defense to offense. With the offensive rebounding part, there is still a long way to go with that group. But the whole idea is how to maintain advantages and put yourself in a position where downside is minimized. When we played with the national team, that specific group that played had played so much faster and was better on the offensive boards. So I was trying to see how we can translate it. Obviously, it’s a five-man thing. If three guys do it and two guys don’t, then it doesn’t work. But that’s why we’re slowly getting there. The earlier conversations with Coach were like, ‘By February or March, we’ll want to be at 100% with this system.’ It’s not easy to adjust, especially with the situations that we have with a lot of guys being injured. But the only thing we can do is stick with it and trust it. We’ve been doing a good job of that.”

Given all of this, you’re ninth in the West. How do you view where you are in the mix?

Aldama: “The West is not pretty. It’s not easy. Last season, we were second in the West for a bunch. Then we ended up being eighth. So you can’t get caught up in the standings early on. You have a five-game winning or losing streak, and everything changes. So we understand that the playoffs are the playoffs. It doesn’t matter what seed you are. We’ve lost against the seventh seed in the past. So we don’t care about the seeding. Obviously, the higher the better. But we’re thinking about how we can get better every day. Hopefully, that takes care of itself. But building a culture is the most important thing.”

What did you make of Draymond Green’s trash talk on the podcast and his perspective on the flagrant foul?

Aldama: “He loves to podcast. He’s probably just thinking about life after basketball. He has a great platform. He’s a Hall-of-Famer. So he definitely wants that podcast to grow. He’s done it in the past. But it’s tough when you only hear one part of the story. But that got views. So I guess it did well.”

What’s your side of the story? He said you acted like ‘a complete clown’ and tried to sell a call.

Aldama: “I was already dealing with a shoulder injury. That only made it worse. It’s hard to sell a call that was so obvious. It’s a Flagrant 1. I don’t really need to sell a Flagrant 1. But it’s part of basketball. I don’t see it beyond it. I’m just trying to win the basketball game. So if somebody does a dirty play, I get up and move. I only focus about the team. But he’s a great competitor. I’ve had my good share of back and forth with him. It’s always fun. When you have a great player that always wants to compete, that’s always fun. The NBA is 82 games long. So you need some chippiness and aggressiveness to get you through. So I just love it. With him, I found a competitor that we love to go against each other. The more we’ll do it, the more fun it’ll be. So hopefully it’s fun to watch.”

Your father (Santiago Aldama) and uncle (Santiago Toledo) played in Spain. What stories did your pops share playing in the ’92 Games?

Aldama: “Well, they didn’t have a great result (laughs)…”

Oh, yeah, but the whole element of hosting the Olympics and playing against the Dream Team.

Aldama: “It was insane. Playing in the Olympics is something that goes beyond basketball. It’s an honor and a pride for your country. It’s nothing that can compare to it. Now that I have that experience, I can feel what he’s told me. But for him to play in Spain is even better and then the opportunity to play against the Dream Team. We play against LeBron [James]. We play against Steph [Curry]. But I think playing against those guys – Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird – that’s something that is incredible.

He has a really cool picture of Michael Jordan. Jordan is underneath the rim. And he’s trying to block him. I don’t think he blocked him. But it’s a really cool picture. We have that at home. Seeing that growing up, I was like, ‘Wow, I want to play against those guys.’ And now I’m able to do it.”

Did it look like your Dad was blocking Jordan’s shot?

Aldama: “Jordan is going up in the air, and my Dad is up there. But knowing Jordan, he either made it or passed it out.”

What does your Dad say? Does he say that he blocked him?

Aldama: “He says, ‘Probably not.’ (laughs). He’s not going to lie. I thought the Dream Team won that game by 40 [122-81 in Group Play]. That would’ve been tough if he blocked it. But I don’t think so.”

You grew up watching Pau Gasol play with Kobe Bryant on the Lakers. What sticks out with you with seeing them win two championships together and the chemistry they had?

Aldama: “It’s pretty cool. Being from Spain, the NBA seems far away. Obviously, it’s a dream. But it’s tougher. We don’t watch NBA games daily. They are on at 2 or 3 am. But having that opportunity to see Pau and Kobe was amazing. Kobe was one of the best players ever. Pau was his second man. That truly made the Spanish kids think that it’s possible. Then Marc [Gasol] won a championship as well [in Toronto in 2019]. Seeing that chemistry develop was great. Then I saw Team USA and Spain going back and forth. It’s incredible. Obviously, I’ve always wanted to be an NBA player. But seeing all of that lit a fire under me when I was a kid. I’ve kept it with me since.”

How did you process the different emotions with the 2008 and 2012 Olympics with Spain and Team USA in the gold medal game: the US wins, you all get silver and both games were very competitive?

Aldama: “Talking with the guys that played those games, it’s very different. I was a kid. I was seven years old, and then I was 11 years old. These guys I have now actually played with after they played those games. It was different. It’s something as a player where you don’t feel good. You lost a game. But then you realize you’re able to compete against Team USA in two very good games. That’s something that is not easy. Not many countries can do that. Honestly, I think Spain is one of the best, if not the best, national teams ever. That’s why I think that’s where we want to be at in the coming years.”

What’s your outlook on that happening?

Aldama: “It’s different now. The qualifiers have changed. But we have a very young group and we have a new coach [Chus Mateo]. We are very excited. Hugo González with the Celtics is a very good kid. Then we have a bunch of guys in NCAA that are up and coming. Those guys will be in the draft this year. We have a very good group, but we’re young. We’re using that to our advantage with playing at a fast pace. Basketball is different than it was 15 years ago. But Spain is always Spain. We always play to win.”

What do you think of the new All-Star game format with American players going against the international players?

Aldama: “I think it’s cool. At the end of the day, you want to see some competitiveness. There’s no denying the All-Star game has kind of lost a little bit of viewership and motivation. But I think it’s cool. Hopefully, USA vs the World, there is a little bit more competitiveness and that we enjoy it more.”

Did I read correctly that you’re on the NBPA’s board and you’re trying to do some foundation stuff for Spain?

Aldama: “Yeah, I’m on the foundation board, but it’s not necessarily for Spain. We helped because there was a natural disaster last year. I was with the board at that time. But they helped a lot with [Jose] Calderon. He was a huge driver of that. We were able to contribute a bunch of resources to the people that suffered. The NBPA helped big time. That was one of the things that motivated me to be on the board with the foundation. We can help when the fires occurred and Jamaica now [with Hurricane Melissa]. We’re trying to help anybody and everybody. Then whatever ventures the players have or anything that’s passionate to them, we can match and help. I think that’s important because we’re more than basketball players. We’re lucky enough to be in a privileged financial situation and social situation. We can donate a lot and also make people aware of things that drive us.”

Speaking of which, congratulations on your free-agency deal (three years, $52.5 million). How have you processed what this means now and moving forward?

Aldama: “It means a lot. When you’re a rookie and you come into the league, you don’t know what to expect. But in my conversations with Zach [Kleiman], they have always been super positive with how we wanted this to be a long-term relationship and build something important in Memphis. For him to continue that and for me to want to continue that with our partnership going forward is very important. We both believe in what we’re building. This contract extension shows that on both ends. It was a very easy negotiation where we both wanted the same thing. When you hit restricted free agency and we’re both on the same page, that makes it a lot easier.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for EssentiallySports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.