As the Golden State Warriors decide whether to extend Steve Kerr’s contract, Draymond Green’s comments raised a few doubts. They’ve worked together for 12 years and won four titles together. Yet, as a player, Green felt Kerr’s playstyle “hindered” his development. The same coach who went above and beyond to probably ensure the former DPOY remains with the Warriors came under fire when he practically needed a push. Austin Rivers and others took exception to these comments. But Green highlighted the entire truth.
“I think number one, people took a four-minute clip of me saying how great this guy’s been to my career, how much he’s taught me about winning, where I wouldn’t be without him, and all these things. And they took a 4-minute clip and they took 15 seconds of it where I said, you know, I think from an offensive standpoint, he hindered me. I stand by that. That’s my truth,” the Warriors forward said on Inside the NBA.
That’s the only “gripe” Draymond Green has about playing for Steve Kerr. However, it doesn’t outweigh the good. If he could sit and look back at his career, built heavily on Kerr’s vision, not a single bone in his body would be upset.
“By the way, I have zero regrets about my career. That’s the beauty of it. I can say what my gripe is and everything’s still great. There’s no regrets about it,” Draymond Green added.
Draymond Green endorses Steve Kerr’s extension
At first, after Steve Kerr appeared to say his final goodbyes to Stephen Curry and Green, the Warriors forward saw what the moment was. In a podcast appearance right after their loss to the Phoenix Suns, Green made a shocking claim. He thought their brief moment on the sidelines would be the last time the trio would be together. Green didn’t think Kerr would return.
However, since then, Kerr’s interview with The New Yorker has allowed people to gauge his thought process. The Warriors head coach revealed a lot, but in regard to coaching, his mind was clear.
“I don’t want to abandon those guys. If Steph and Draymond were retiring this year, I think this would be an easy decision: we all go out together and the organization takes their new path. But it’s not that easy because I think Steph’s going to play another couple of years and I think we can still do some good things together,” he told The New Yorker.
Draymond Green might have read that article thoroughly, too. Just weeks removed from his crushing admission, the Warriors’ defensive stalwart has now changed his tune. When speaking about the situation with the Inside the NBA crew, Green said, “I think and hope he’s coming back. I don’t know more than anyone else in the world knows outside of what I do know is he wants to coach”.
That doesn’t sound like a player who doesn’t enjoy his basketball under Steve Kerr. With this being probably the last chance for the Warriors, Green wants to see Kerr finish his coaching chapter on his own terms. That’s the kind of respect and admiration he’s built for his head coach.
One or two gripes aren’t going to affect that.
