OAKLAND — There’s two ways to look at Draymond Green’s summer.
On one hand, no harm, no foul, right? His arrest for slapping a Michigan State football player quickly went away and the Snapchat of his private part is barely discussed anymore.
The other view, which the Warriors are taking, is that these multiple incidents were a wakeup call for Green to check his behavior off the court.
“He had all these things happen at once,” President of Basketball Operations Bob Myers said. “Where usually they are spread out a little bit. But maybe that’s what needed to happen.”
Communication with Draymond from the Warriors is non-stop. Myers said the two spoke last week, and Green said he’s learned a lot this summer.
With that said, it doesn’t seem like the Warriors are going to ask him to change on the court — at all. Green and Myers watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals together from a suite at the Oakland A’s adjacent stadium. After nudging LeBron James in the groin, Green had accrued a one game suspension for reaching the postseason technical foul limit.
There was talk about whether the NBA would let him back on the floor to celebrate the championship, but instead, the Warriors lost three straight games for the first time all season.
“I’m the wrong person to ask,” Myers said. “I have some blind spots for Draymond. I know that’s probably not the right answer, but give me all those guys. Because he cares, he’s genuine, he wants to be a better person. He loves his teammates.
“Yeah, he could do some things differently. He’d be the first one to acknowledge that. But Draymond’s the type of person 10, 15, 20 years from now, 30, 40, I’ll remember my interactions with Draymond Green. And I’ll probably remember him in a very positive way. He leaves a mark on people in a good way. I think he’s just trying to figure out the rhythm of life.”
As the Warriors navigate this new burden of being the so-called villains of the NBA, Green’s outspoken leadership will become more important than ever. As the team goes through some expected bumps and bruises to start the year, Green’s brutal honesty with the media often helps air out any in-house issues.
We saw what a toned-down Draymond felt like in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. After he escaped suspension for kicking Steven Adams in the groin, Green went 1/7 from the field and committed six turnovers. Kerr admitted Draymond wasn’t himself and the Warriors aren’t fully operational without him. Oklahoma City walloped Golden State 118-94.
The kicking has to stop. But the passion? This is exactly why the Warriors don’t want Green to change. This is what the Warriors will still lean on in times of need.
“Give me someone who cares too much, than not enough,” Myers said. “If caring too much is the problem, or living too much is the problem, you can fix those things.”
