Steve Kerr gave a long answer about Draymond Green.
On Tuesday evening, the Golden State Warriors had their season come to an end when they lost to the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament by a score of 118-94.
The franchise won the 2022 NBA Championship, but they had been coming off a season where they lost in the second round and looked especially vulnerable this year.
Draymond Green, who is 34, is still an extremely productive player and finished the season with averages of 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 49.7% from the field and 39.5% from the three-point range.
However, there was a lot of drama early on when he was suspended on two separate occasions.
Recently, head coach Steve Kerr met with the media and gave a thoughtful answer about Green (the full clip can be watched via Anthony Slater of The Athletic).
Kerr on April 18: “I have so much faith in Draymond, because I know him so well as a human being. He’s flawed. We’re all flawed, but he would be the first to tell you he’s probably more flawed than the rest of us. He’s the one who’s had these transgressions not the other guys. It’s been him and he would be the first to tell you that. But he’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. He’s one of the most competitive, he’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. And yet, he makes these decisions that hurt the team, that aren’t smart. How do you reconcile that? It’s really difficult. The number one thing I would say is if we decided he wasn’t worth it, then we would have moved off of him years ago, but he’s worth it. Not only because of the banners that are hanging out there, but because he really is a wonderful human being, he is somebody who I love deeply.”
Kerr also added later: “Draymond’s complex. His relationship with our franchise is complex.”
Green was the 35th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Michigan State and has been in the league for 12 seasons.
The 2017 Defensive Player of The Year has helped the Warriors win four NBA Championships since 2015.