The makeshift podium room at the A’s Jack London Square offices was jam-packed with reporters, cameras and team executives — including former president of baseball operations Billy Beane standing in the back of the room.

“Wow,” general manager David Forst said as he looked around from the podium. “This is exciting, it’s not something we do every day. It’s been a while.”

The A’s aren’t big on the pricy free agency signings that might warrant a flashy news conference — a recent history of cost-cutting and low budgets forces the front office to keep spending at a minimum. So it has been a while. Think Yoenis Cespedes’ intro in 2013, or Hideki Matsui in 2010.

Fujinami’s one-year, $3.5 million deal with the A’s wouldn’t normally warrant the big gathering, but the international draw was enough to get a large group of Japanese language media who will follow “Fuji” — his preferred American nicknamed — through his MLB journey.

“Like Mt. Fuji,” Fujinami said through Japanese interpreter Issei Yamada.

Fujinami’s deal with Oakland poses a perfect opportunity for both sides. Fujinami was looking for a team that would let him pitch as a starter. And the A’s were in need of another arm in their rotation.

“It was important to him to have a chance to be a starter, and that’s how we’ve seen him perform in Japan,” Forst said.

The opportunity to start alone could have been the ultimate draw to Oakland for Fujinami. The 28-year-old was drafted in the first round into the Nippon Professional Baseball, alongside superstar and high-school rival Shohei Ohtani in 2012. He made four straight NBP All-Star teams during his 10-seasons with the Hanshin Tigers as a hard-throwing starter who can hit triple-digits to go with a low 80’s mph slider and a splitter.

But Fujinami lost his command somewhere along the way. In 2017, at age 23, his walk rate jumped from 3.7 walks per nine innings to 5.7 in 26 games with the Tigers, including 11 starts. His struggles had him switching between starter and reliever toward the latter part of his Tigers career.

Lately, he’s been able to regain some of that control, lowering his BB/9 back down to 3.0 in 25 games. The 6-foot-6 pitcher struck out 65 batters with 21 walks for a 3.38 ERA over 66 2/3 innings last season — both as a starter for 10 games and a reliever for six.

It was Fujinami’s track record as a starter that interested the A’s, who are in desperate need of some stability in their rotation with Daulton Jefferies recovering from Tommy John surgery and James Kaprielian likely to miss time to start the season with an arm injury. Oakland brought back Paul Blackburn on a one-year deal and Cole Irvin also returns, while 2022 trade acquisitions Ken Waldichuk and JP Sears are among the other rotation options.

A.J. Puk will still be stretched out as a starter, Forst said, with an opportunity for the lefty to earn a rotation spot in spring training.  The A’s also signed Drew Rucinski to a one-year, $3 million deal. The 34-year-old spent the past four seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization League.

But Forst sounded certain Fujinami will start.

“I didn’t realize we brought Mt. Fuji to the Bay Area. We’re moving mountains, I guess,” Fujinami’s agent Scott Boras said. “Today marks a very special time for him, it really does.”

The deal also plants the seed for another American League West dynamic. Fujinami could wind up facing his old friend, Ohtan,i when the A’s and Los Angeles Angels match up in at least one of the 13 times they play each other this season, including the opening week.

“No doubt about it. I’m very excited,” Fujinami said. “We’re the same age. Obviously, he’s one of the best players in the world. For the Japanese fans, it’ll be very exciting for us to play against each other. I’m very excited.”

From tip-off, Draymond Green was engaged in a war of words with a few fans seated on the Wizards sideline. The fans kept talking trash to Green through all 12 of the game’s lead changes, Green said.

“You think you a Hall of Famer?” one said to Green.

Those fans didn’t have much to say back after Golden State pulled away late behind Green’s 11-point fourth-quarter — all while anchoring a defensive performance with the grit they’ve been searching for.

“‘I better never hear you say that again,” Green said back to the fans. “I’m like that, I’ve been like that, bro.”

The Warriors take pride in silencing their doubters, but Green admitted he benefitted from hearing the negativity. Suffering from a malaise that’s led to a baffling 5-17 road record and mediocre first half of the season, the Warriors’ veterans are grabbing for any motivation they can reach.

Last season’s 18-2 start and Finals win was at least partially fueled by outside voices who declared the Warriors’ dynasty dead. After winning their fourth ring in Boston, Steph Curry, Green and Klay Thompson made a point of calling out talking heads and former players who said they were over.

With a different, slightly younger roster this year, the defending champions haven’t been able to find within themselves that prove-you-wrong gusto with any sort of consistency. It’s led to 0-2 records against the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic — both losing teams. The Warriors are hanging on to the seventh seed and in striking distance of a higher seed by virtue of a mediocre Western Conference.

The Wizards looked to be taking another road game from the Warriors. They didn’t have an answer for 7-foot-3 center Kristaps Porzingis, who took advantage of a Warriors team lacking length and scored 25 points in the first half.

But Green and the entire team found a little extra motivation to stave off another disappointing road loss from that trash talk. Green got a few big stops in the second quarter and had his hands on every defensive opportunity throughout the second half.

“I appreciated it, though, because I had nothing going. I couldn’t find it,” Green said. “Wasn’t about to find it. Shout out to them, they got me going. I appreciate those guys.”

Green has a history with opposing team fans. Celtics fans chanted offensive taunts at Green that flustered him during the NBA Finals. This season, Green had a Milwaukee Bucks fan kicked out of the game after some of the fan’s comments made Green uncomfortable. Typically, though, Green lives off the doubt. So Curry and his teammates encouraged Green to shut the fans up.

“We always love an engaged Draymond, no matter who puts the gas in the tank,” Curry said.

The chirping fans left well before the final horn with Warriors clearly headed for a win. Curry noticed, hoping he and Green could get in a few words with them after the game — in good fun.

“I was very disappointed,” Curry said. “Very disappointed. We were running out the clock, you got to take that smoke the whole game. As soon as we were walking back to the bench, I thought there’d be a final word. I looked over and saw him walking out before the clock was at zero. That’s a cardinal rule, you can’t do that. I’m sure he would have stayed if we lost.”

That’s when defensive end Charles Omenihu put his foot down, forcing the game’s first turnover to shift momentum back to the No. 2 seed 49ers in their 41-23 win to open up Wild Card weekend on Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks were in the red zone down six, but facing third-and-14 from the 19-yard line. Omenihu mentally locked in to force a field goal attempt, at least. But a near-sack he had earlier in the game was weighing on him.

So when Smith went back to pass, Omenihu bull rushed, reached in and knocked the ball out of his hands, forcing a fumble.

“I told the guys, its big time players that make plays in big time games. And we’re all big time players,” Omenihu said. “It matters who is going to step up. In the year and a half I’ve been here, I’ve stepped up in big-time games to help my team win.”

It took a second for everyone else on the field to realize the ball was loose and live. Nick Bosa recovered the ball at the Seattle 30-yard line.

“Charles, with his long arms, came through and knocked it out,” Bosa said. “That whole thing happened in slow motion for me, so I was just happy to get the ball.”

Added coach Kyle Shanahan: “When the ball went on the ground, all I was asking, ‘Just jump on it, please,’ Once he did, I wish he scooped and ran. Regardless we ended up scoring. It was huge play. Once our defense did that, they got their mojo back.”

Charles Omenihu strips Geno and Bosa recovers!

Huge @49ers takeaway in the red zone. #SuperWildCard

: #SEAvsSF on FOX
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/96NMtTe9OX pic.twitter.com/L6byd90Uba

— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2023

Change the game it did, as Omenihu’s turnover keyed a touchdown drive that pushed the 49ers lead to two scores. At the start of the fourth quarter, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy connected with a leaping Juan Jennings for a 33-yard reception that put San Francisco in the red zone. Then Purdy escaped pressure, rolled right and found a wide-open Elijah Mitchell, who scampered into the endzone.

“Huge,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “We talk about turnovers all the time. At that point, it’s 0-0 as far as turnovers. I just had a feeling talking with guys on the sideline as soon as our defense could get one loose, that was going to change the game.”

Charles Omenihu strips Geno and Bosa recovers!

Huge @49ers takeaway in the red zone. #SuperWildCard

: #SEAvsSF on FOX
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/96NMtTe9OX pic.twitter.com/L6byd90Uba

— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2023

Purdy found George Kittle for a successful two-point conversion, ensuring that a pair of unanswered Seahawks touchdowns would only tie the game.

For the 49ers, it was a play that reset the proper tone, as the NFL’s top-ranked defense had been underwhelming until that point. Omenihu’s strip sack was just their second sack of the game, their first since the first drive of the game when Arik Armstead sacked Smith on third and 2 at the Seattle 18-yard line.

San Francisco’s defense had no answer for an efficient Smith. He was feeding massive wide receiver DK Metcalf and 14-for-18 with 164 yards, 9 yards per pass, and a touchdown until the fumble.

“It wasn’t a lack of confidence,” linebacker Dre Greenlaw said. “It was like, we should be winning the game right now.”

Greenlaw paused. He wanted to make sure his comments came out right.

“We just know who we are,” he said. “We know we can be better.”

They didn’t show it until Omenihu’s game-changing play, which was then followed by Smith throwing an interception to Deommodore Lenoir on the very next Seattle offensive play. From there, the party was on.

For the 25-year-old from Houston, the two-sack effort was reminiscent of his dominant performance last playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys. The defensive end had 1.5 sacks, including one that forced quarterback Dak Prescott to fumble in their first-round win last year.

The 49ers traded a 2023 sixth round pick to the Houston Texans last November to acquire the former Texas Longhorn. Since then, Bosa has seen “a lot of improvement” in how Omenihu fits in defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans’ scheme.

“He kind of revamped his preparation,” Bosa said. “He was more of a big interior guy when he came in, and in the time that he’s been here, he’s bought into the scheme. He’s a really good player for us and he can rush.”

The 49ers have Defensive Player of the Year in Bosa, captain linebacker Fred Warner and breakout safety Talanoa Hufanga at the center of most defensive performances. It’s telling of their depth that a more under-the-radar, though impactful player made the key play to kick off San Francisco’s playoff run.

“It can be anybody,”Juszczyk said. “And I feel like that’s this team. The offense, defense, special teams. There’s so many weapons, so many playmakers. It doesn’t even have to be the headliners. There are so many guys who can make plays that, man, it is tough to stop us when we have everyone going.”

Yet, a large group of grim-faced Warriors executives met for a powwow in plain sight following the team’s embarrassing loss to a Phoenix Suns team playing without any of its star players on Tuesday night. In a room next to the team’s locker room, majority owner Joe Lacob, his sons and executives Kirk and Kent Lacob along with general manager Bob Myers and vice president of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. were among those circled up.

One can only wonder what the brain trust was discussing after a loss like that to complete an underwhelming first half of a title defense season. The Warriors’ brass certainly has decisions to make after reaching the midway point a game under .500, sitting as the eighth seed in a mediocre Western Conference.

The same team that imposed its will and championship DNA to an NBA title last season doesn’t have an identity. That chip on their shoulder comes and goes. They are (mostly) a winning team at home and a mess on the road. Their momentum is herky-jerky at a point where they need to go, go, go.

“We’ve been talking about it for a long time,” Steph Curry said on Tuesday following his anticipated return to the court after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury. “And eventually, you’ve got to do it. Or time runs out.”

There are concrete problems with solutions that could boost them into the Western Conference’s top echelon. Decisions the team’s brass will need to address now.

The most obvious issue that the front office can address is the Warriors’ thin frontcourt. The trade deadline is Feb. 9; do they take a leap and trade for another big who can set a good screen, move the ball and perhaps stretch the floor or apply pressure at the rim?

James Wiseman is injured and is still developing into a player who can defend at an NBA level or assert himself offensively with consistency. JaMychal Green, who is also out, hasn’t shown he can fill the Otto Porter Jr. mold as the team had hoped.

Jonathan Kuminga, yet another injured option, has been evolving as a strong point-of-attack defender and a potential threat at the rim. At age 20, is Kuminga enough? At the halfway point of the season, maybe the front office feels an outside addition provides some security. A heavy luxury tax burden limits the Warriors’ options; they’d likely need to part ways with former No. 2 overall pick Wiseman in a trade for Jakob Poeltl or Jae Crowder.

There has to be some urgency to explore trade options — or maybe buyout options down the line — because a thin frontcourt comes at a cost. Head coach Steve Kerr raised workload concerns about Draymond Green and Kevon Looney, both of whom have needed to play maximum minutes with injuries ripping the depth to shreds.

Looney has played in 152 straight games, and the team’s success in any playoff run will depend on him and Green staying healthy. News of Green’s aching back recently should raise concerns after he missed more than a month late last season with a back injury.

“Typical time of the season where you call them the dog days, halfway through, not through the All-Star break yet,” Green told this news organization earlier this week. “Do you feel great? No. Not physically or mentally. That’s just the space you’re in at that point in the season. No one feels great.”

Green began this season with a unique motivation as a problem child who pundits proclaimed needed to be traded after video leaked of him punching teammate Jordan Poole in the preseason. He proved again himself as an irreplaceable defender and playmaker. Now he’s played 37 games at 31 minutes per game, nearly half the time and most effectively at center, with a concerning workload already.

Green says he’s doing what he can to stave off an extended absence, focusing more on his core strength this season to prevent another bad back injury. But the Warriors could insulate their title hopes from imploding if Green misses time.

Adding some depth to the frontcourt could also help the Warriors’ defensive identity crisis. After a dismal 1-5 East Coast road trip, Green said the team’s mental fragility was the biggest reason for its lack of consistent ball pressure. That manifests in a lack of grit on defense that gave them that extra oomph last season.

Another area of concern has been playmaking, but Andre Iguodala could be the extra point forward the Warriors need. In his second game back on Tuesday, he played the adult in the room, his best role, that prompted 13 Phoenix turnovers in the fourth quarter to buoy the Warriors’ comeback attempt. He briefly took over the role Green had to shoulder when the second unit was floundering earlier this year, relieving the turnover-prone Poole from some playmaking duties.

If Iguodala can stay healthy, the 38-year-old could be a front court depth savior with an IQ that makes his integration back onto the roster seamless.

The Warriors’ issues aren’t just defensive — though they thrive off the transition offense their defense creates. Poole hasn’t taken the next step after signing his lucrative contract. Moses Moody’s development has taken an alarming turn.

The executives who circled up Tuesday night have every reason to be concerned. With a historically large payroll and a title to defend, a sub-.500 record at the halfway mark warrants action.

But around the corner in the team locker room, the mood remained as it has all year. The veterans know they have to set the tone, but these ups and downs are just part of a familiar ride. They still think they’ll win a title.

“All the team that’s won championships here, we’ve been on since 2015,” Green said. “I 100 percent believe that. It hasn’t been proven yet that we can’t.”

Conforto, 29, signed a two-year, $36 million deal with the Giants just days after the team’s 13-year deal with shortstop Carlos Correa fell through due to concerns over his surgically repaired ankle that arose during his physical. Conforto and Correa share the same agent in Scott Boras. They also share an injured past.

The shoulder surgery forced Conforto to miss all of the 2022 season. On a call with reporters from the Giants’ training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. — where Conforto lives — Conforto said he’s had no setbacks and expects his right shoulder to be fully healthy for the season. The Giants’ medical team told him they were pleased with “how everything is looking,” he said.

Physically, Conforto feels stronger every day. Mentally, missing a season of baseball in his prime motivates him to milk his moments on the field.

“The last year or so, it’s been hard,” Conforto said. “You never want to miss an MLB season. It definitely wasn’t an ideal situation. It was heartbreaking a little bit. It gave me perspective, it gave me a chance to take a step back and view my career as a whole.”

A healthy Conforto could look like a steal for the Giants. He was a fan favorite in New York, nicknamed “Scoot” by veteran teammates Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom for the way he scooted around the bases. He made the All-Star team in 2017, his second full season at age 24, hitting 27 home runs. He’d hit 28 homers the following year and a career-high 33 in 2019.

In his seven years with the Mets, he batted .255 with a .356 on-base percentage and a .824 OPS. But shoulder issues Conforto says he’s had since his high school football days caught up to him. He had a shoulder cuff injury in 2019 and tore his left shoulder’s posterior capsule swinging through a pitch in 2017, requiring surgery.

“I’ve always had mobile shoulders. I’ve had laxity in my shoulders,” Conforto said. “It’s part of the reason I am able to do the things I can do. But more or less, it was a matter of shoulders getting beaten up. This left one has been great ever since the surgery. All signs point to the right one being the same way.”

Conforto’s shoulder surgery also gave the Giants an opportunity to snag him at a bargain price. His signing follows a noticeable pattern in Giants’ free agent signings of late.

The 32-year-old Mitch Haniger signed for three-years, $43.5 million after having played more than 100 games just twice in his five-year MLB career. He’s sustained a few flukey injuries, some requiring surgery. Newest bullpen addition Luke Jackson signed a two-year deal worth $11.3 million after missing all of 2022 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

How much more watchable the 2023 Giants will be banks on some talented players looking to get back on track.

It’s to be seen how that plan pans out for a Giants team desperate to re-capture fans’ attention and contend with a deep National League West division.

But Conforto is ready for this opportunity. He arrived at the Giants’ Papago Baseball Complex a few days ago and started throwing from 200 feet out recently. He’s been able to catch up with some of his old Mets teammates — Wilmer Flores, J.D. Davis — and settle into the familiar West Coast.

Conforto grew up in Seattle, but found himself following the Giants as a baseball fan. He played for the Beavers at Oregon State from 2012 to 2014, at the height of the Giants’ dynasty. During his Little League World Series appearance, Conforto named Barry Bonds as his favorite player and watched Tim Lincecum pitch at the University of Washington.

But one year out of the game can feel like an eternity. He rehabbed at his home in Scottsdale this year, but bought the most extensive MLB TV package to keep up to date with the game. Injury flags and all, he’s one of the Giants’ biggest acquisitions this offseason. He sees himself as a player who can pull a disappointing team back into the 100-win column.

“I have a lot of confidence about coming back and playing an important part of this team,” he said. “I have confidence in the player that I have been and where I’m going.”

The No. 2 seed 49ers (13-4) and No. 7 seed Seahawks (9-8) will go head-to-head for a second time for the NFC wild-card game to be played at Levi’s Stadium next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT on Fox.

A home overtime win Sunday over the Rams put Seattle in playoff position, and a Lions win over Green Bay hours later clinched it by knocking the Packers out.

The 49ers are 2-0 against the Seahawks this year, beating them handily in Week 2 at home, 27-7, when Jimmy Garoppolo took over at quarterback after Trey Lance suffered an ankle fracture. In December, the 49ers beat the Seahawks comfortably, 21-13, in Seattle with Brock Purdy at quarterback to clinch the NFC West.

The 49ers are riding a 10-game win streak into their third playoff appearance since Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017. They played in and lost to the Kanas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl after the 2019 season and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game last January.

Roles and rosters have changed significantly since the last time the Seahawks and Niners faced off in the playoffs for the 2013 NFC Championship Game. The Seahawks were the toast of the NFL then, beating Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers 23-17 in a game punctuated by Richard Sherman’s infamous tip on the corner fade to Michael Crabtree that could have tied the game.

The play was further cemented into rivalry history when Sherman called himself “the best corner in the game” and blasted Crabtree on an on-field postgame interview with Erin Andrews. The Seahawks went on to beat Denver and win the Super Bowl, and the 49ers missed the playoffs in each of the next five seasons.

Those Seahawks were led by Russell Wilson at quarterback, but this year’s team has thrived without him after trading the former Pro Bowler to Denver last offseason in exchange for draft picks and three players: Tight end Noah Fant, quarterback Drew Lock and defensive lineman Shelby Harris.

Geno Smith, who was Wilson’s backup the last two years, beat out Lock for the starting spot and has thrived. Entering Sunday, he had a career-high completion percentage of 70.2 and a passer rating of 102.9 in his first season starting since 2014 with the Jets.

Seattle started the season well, exiting Week 9 with a 6-3 record and the division lead, but lost five of six games after that. The Seahawks pulled themselves together to beat the Jets on New Year’s Day and the Rams on Sunday, earning the NFC’s final playoff spot with a little help from the Lions.

Like most NFL teams, the 49ers players wore T-shirts that say “Love for Damar” emblazoned with his No. 3 while warming up for their final regular-season game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

The team also had the “3” on the 30-yard line outlined in red to honor Hamlin and held a pregame moment asking fans to cheer for Hamlin, including a message of support on the Levi’s Stadium video board.

The news on Hamlin’s health has been mostly positive since the horrifying moment the 24-year-old safety collapsed on the field after a tackle and had to be resuscitated by team trainers during the Bills’ Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

While still in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Hamlin is taking major strides in his recovery. He’s off a breathing tube and breathing on his own, talking with family and friends. He’s been on the phone video-chatting with his teammates and is posting on his social media accounts.

“When you put real love out into (the) world it comes back to you 3x’s as much,” Hamlin wrote on Twitter. “The Love has been overwhelming, but I’m thankful for every single person that prayed for me and reached out. We (brought) the world back together behind this. If you know me, you know this only gonna make me stronger. On a long road, keep praying for me!”

San Francisco cornerback Ambry Thomas became friends with Hamlin during a 2016 recruiting trip to the University of Pittsburgh. The pair played together at the 2021 Senior Bowl.

“He’s energetic. He brings the juice,” Thomas said earlier this week. “He’s somebody where if you’re having a bad day, you go get next to him. He’ll find a way to bring you up.”

Fans at Levi’s Stadium made signs to support for Hamlin, too: “Love for Damar” read one displayed pregame near the field.

The Bay is with you, Damar pic.twitter.com/VWRl3dpf53

— KNBR (@KNBR) January 8, 2023

Hamlin’s own team, the Bills, earned an emotional 35-23 win over the New England Patriots earlier Sunday to clinch the AFC’s No. 2 seed. Nyheim Hines opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown, sending Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium into a frenzy. He later returned another kickoff for a touchdown. It had been three years and three months to the day since the Bills last returned a kickoff for a score.

“We felt it mostly pregame with everybody’s shirts on, showing love for Damar,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “I saw (the Bills opening kick-return touchdown) and it lifeted me up and gave me momentum going out there.”

The Bills also held a pregame moment to honor their medical personnel, including assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, who was credited this week for saving Hamlin’s life by performing CPR on him.

The @BuffaloBills return the opening kick. You couldn't write this script.

: #NEvsBUF on CBS
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Zuxd3911Wt pic.twitter.com/8SexEVXpTN

— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2023

But Warriors fans up in arms about what feels like an unfair whistle might have a point this year.

The Warriors’ 19.87 free throw attempts per game are the fewest by any team in the NBA after 40 games.

And if it feels like Golden State isn’t getting many calls in their favor, you aren’t going crazy. Opponents average 18.5 personal fouls per game against them, second fewest to Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets, who get 18.18 calls per game on average per game.

The discrepancy widens given the Warriors’ foul troubles. They average 22 fouls per game, which is the third most following the Detroit Pistons (22.3) and Minnesota Timberwolves (22.1).

All told, the Warriors boast the league’s widest gap between fouls called for and against them. Not only are they rarely at the free throw line, they’re practically handing out free passes to the charity stripe to other teams.

Extra policing on carrying and travel calls also have many Warriors players flustered. There’s little consistency in how and when they’re called, they say. So they’re not at all shocked that they’ve gotten an uneven whistle this year.

“Not surprising,” Draymond Green said. “It feels that way when you’re playing, it’s not quite as far as the foul count or free throw count. But we have to take some responsibility.”

They’ll take responsibility for the incessant fouls. Some of the younger players  – James Wiseman, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga among them – are getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar as they learn to acclimate to NBA-level defense. There’s a learning curve across the board as this team with multiple generations learns to play together. Rookie mistakes are a drawback to the Warriors’ ambitious two timeline plan.

“I think we take responsibility in the way we’re defending,” Green said. “There are times we can get a little handsy. Not using our hands as much. We have to take some responsibility in it.

“At the same time, it’s a little alarming.”

Andre Iguodala was a little more up front. When his podcast co-host Evan Turner called the Warriors’ Kevin Durant era “unfair” on a recent episode of their Point Forward podcast, Iguodala responded to say the Warriors are still being punished for Durant’s move to Golden State.

“We still don’t get no calls, though,” Iguodala said.

In the six years since Durant’s move to the Bay in 2017, the Warriors have averaged 20.88 free throw attempts per game and 19.03 opponents personal fouls per game – both the third least amount behind the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers in both categories.

In a league that can run on “superstar calls” — where star players get a more favorable whistle — this team of superstars has seen quite the opposite.

Few stars have as contentious a relationship with officials than Green. He’s already four technical fouls shy of a suspension. Green’s made a career of dancing on that line between trouble and greatness, so he claims to have not noticed that the whistle is blowing a little more against them this year. He lives that life every night.

“I’ve always been one with the referees so, my relationship with them has always been the same,” he said. “I don’t think it’s much of a difference for me. That’s just me.”

But that relationship has given him perspective on the referees’ power over players.

“Accountability has been an issue when it comes to referees and players since the beginning of time,” he said. “When you give one person power over another person, more likely than not the moment they can exercise that power, they will. That’s a situation where we’re given no power in the situation.”

It’s unseemly and petty for players and coaches to complain about perceived unfairness. Plus, any direct criticism of the officials could warrant a fine from the commissioner’s office. So they muzzle it, unless a non-call is so egregious they have no choice but to speak out and risk the fine.

Earlier this year, Steph Curry was whacked in the head by Bucks guard Wesley Matthews while shooting a 3-pointer that ultimately went in. No call. Curry was so outraged he got T’d up.

“Anytime the defender is asking you ‘Are you alright?’ and the ref is like, ‘I didn’t see anything,’ that’s kind of a funny situation to be in,” Curry told reporters in Milwaukee last month. “I thought it was clear that I got hit in the face. I was actually surprised it went in. I was more worried about where the foul call was.”

Non-calls have been intrinsically tied to Curry throughout his career. His superstardom blossomed primarily off ball, shooting 3-pointers — which means he has fewer opportunities to draw fouls. But he didn’t get those calls when defenses got more physical. Since his first MVP season and the Warriors’ first title, Curry averages 4.93 free throw attempts per game. For comparison’s sake, despite the different styles of play, fellow MVP guard James Harden averages 10 FTA over that span; Russell Westbrook averages 7.3.

The calls haven’t fallen in the Warriors’ favor. Fans watching in horror should know their eyes don’t deceive. As Green points out, referees hold all the power — and often don’t have to answer for their mistakes outside of the last 2 minute report. All players can do is come to terms with it.

“Refereeing is a job done by humans, so being as its a job done by humans it will never be fair,” he said. “That’s the nature of what it is. Human beings have emotions, human beings have mistakes. Unless we change it to robots, it’ll never be fair.”

After news broke that Green had punched Poole during practice on Oct. 5 and video of the punch was subsequently leaked, Green recorded a podcast to tell his side of the story. Ultimately, he decided not to publish the podcast.

“I know everyone was looking for it and everyone wanted to hear it,” Green said on the latest episode of the Draymond Green Show. “Quite frankly, I wanted to allow you to hear what I had to say. I wanted to allow you a chance to kinda take a trip in my mind and just maybe understand more. When we recorded the episode, I hated the way I sounded. So we simply just didn’t release it.”

The latest episode ended Green’s two-and-a-half-month hiatus from his podcast. He posted pre-recorded interviews with Patrick Beverley on Oct. 7 and De’Aaron Fox on Oct. 21 and then went dark until this Thursday. He had been posting an episode of his podcast somewhat regularly until the altercation.

Green stopped recording podcasts because of “contractual obligations,” he said. Ultimately he decided not to post an episode on the Poole punch because he didn’t like his “tone” and had second thoughts about the potential ramifications of whatever he said.

“I didn’t like my tone, I didn’t like the things I said, I didn’t like the way it came out,” Green said. “If you’re not careful, it almost comes off as unremorseful and distasteful. One hundred percent distasteful. But also fast. What do I mean by fast? Quite frankly, I’m not big into saying things or doing things, and then running to my show because it’s gonna get more ratings. I don’t really like that game. That’s the old media. I don’t play that game. I’m not very interested in that. I think there’s a time to speak. If the opportunity is there, I’m gonna speak. I’m never gonna shy away from a topic.”

Green continued: “People were affected. It wasn’t just something that affected me. When you do something that affects someone else, you can’t just take yourself into consideration, how you may feel, how it may benefit you, all of those things. For me, I’m like, ‘OK, Jordan has to deal with this, other people have to deal with this.’ The last thing I need to be doing about it is talking about it like it’s all fine and dandy.”

Steph Curry leads the conference’s backcourt with 2.715 million votes for the 2023 All-Star game to be held in Salt Lake City on Feb. 19. Klay Thompson comes in at fifth with 515,104 votes and Jordan Poole has the 10th most votes with 138,902.

Andrew Wiggins — who made his first career All-Star game last season as a starter — has the fifth most votes with 1.23 million. Draymond Green comes in at eighth with 405,245 votes and Kevon Looney has the 10th most with 245,985 votes.

The top two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference are selected as All-Star starters. At the end of the fan voting period, the top vote-getters in each conference are selected as team captains that can draft among the top 10 starters from any conference to be on their team.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (a team captain in every All-Star game since the new format’s inception in 2018) and Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant currently lead all voting in their respective conferences, both with over 3 million votes.

Despite a shoulder injury, Curry looks cleared to be selected an All-Star starter for a ninth time in his 14-year career. And with long-term injuries to New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson and Lakers’ Anthony Davis — who both sit ahead of him in the early fan vote — Wiggins could see a path toward consecutive starter nods.

Fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the starter voting pool. A combination of current players and media accounts for the other 50 percent of voting. Any Warriors player not selected as a starter could have a shot as a reserve. Green is looking to make his fifth career All-Star game; he was selected as a reserve last season, but didn’t participate due to injury.

Thompson could make his sixth All-Star game and first since the 2018-19 season, the year he tore his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Looney and Poole are gunning for their first All-Star appearances.

The 30 NBA coaches vote to select 14 reserves sent to the All-Star game. Two guards, three frontcourt players and two players at any position from each conference are selected as reserves.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.

Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.

The next fan update is Jan. 12. pic.twitter.com/osVeUGI8H4

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 5, 2023