Green thankful for Kerr’s honest assessment on his future with the Golden State Warriors

Steve Kerr addressed the media during the Golden State Warriors’ season-ending press conference on Tuesday. Among many topics, the four-time championship-winning coach spoke about Draymond Green’s future with the team.

The former Defensive Player of the Year has a $27.6 million player option for next season. He could opt out and join another team as an unrestricted free agent, but it remains likely that he simply inks a new contract with the Warriors. Regardless, Kerr understand the importance of the 33-year-old.

"“If Draymond is not back, we’re not a championship contender,” Kerr said of Green. “We know that. He’s that important to winning and to who we are. I absolutely want him back.”"

Steve Kerr recognizes that Draymond Green has some work to do if he wants to rebuild internal trust that he lost during a preseason scuffle with Jordan Poole.

"“He knows that he had a great season this year from a basketball perspective, but he knows that also he compromised things by what happened back in October,” Kerr noted. “And so part of him coming back next year has to be about rebuilding some of that trust and respect that he’s earned here for a long period of time.”"

Green echoed similar sentiments about Steve Kerr’s transparency during a conversation with Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday night.

"“I’m thankful he put that out there that way. I’m thankful for him to speak about me in that light in saying if I’m not there there’s no chance for a championship…I’m even more thankful for him speaking on the trust that was lost, for him speaking on what was compromised because for me, it allows me to finally put [the incident] behind me and move past it.”"

It’s clear that the Warriors want Green back and he in turn wants to stay, but if the two sides are going to make things work, the 11-year veteran will have to work to regain the confidence of his teammates and coaches. That starts with mending things with Jordan Poole, who recently described the relationship between the two as “just business.”

After all, it was Green that escalated things during the pair’s altercation back in October, sucker-punching Poole after the two exchanged verbal jabs from a distance. While the team did a good job of masking the impact of the situation, Golden State never fully recovered from the damage that was done and it haunted them as the season wore on.

Poole had a disastrous post-season and his confidence was practically diminished by the end of the Warriors’ second-round series against the Lakers, though his struggles were nothing new. After lighting it up on the world’s biggest stage, helping the Warriors’ secure their fourth title in eight years, the fourth-year guard was never able to find his rhythm, which reflected in his erratic play during the regular season.

It wasn’t just Poole though as the Warriors were uncharacteristically poor on defense, and inexplicably bad on the road throughout the year. The vibes that radiated from the Warriors’ 2022 championship squad were simply not there this season, and the Poole-Green incident surely played a factor in the drop in team chemistry.