The role of a veteran on a team cannot be underestimated. Sure, the younger superstars are usually the ones impacting the outcome of the game on the court, but having a veteran presence in the locker room helps in keeping them stay focused.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green recently shed some light on the importance of veteran players on any NBA team. Green believes the lack of veteran presence on teams is a huge problem for the league right now, and it’s leading to more off-court issues than ever.
“When you got teams struggling with leadership, struggling with veteran presence, struggling with people with winners’ mentality. And, like, you had that guy sitting there the entire year. That is actually a huge problem in the NBA. It’s why we see a lot of the things we see in as far as off-court issues because there’s no veterans. There’s no veterans showing these dudes how to move, showing them the way. So you think that you’re just gonna go young, think that’s just gonna work. That s**t don’t work.”
(Starts at 0:16)
"It's why we see a lot of the things we see in terms of off-court issues: there's no veterans showing these guys the way"
—@Money23Green speaks on the "veteran problem" affecting today's NBA pic.twitter.com/a6de76TKQD
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) May 23, 2023
Green was referring to how the Los Angeles Lakers benched Tristan Thompson for the most part of the 2023 playoffs. On the other hand, it could also be a snide comment at Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
While the point that Green made is correct, is he someone who is entitled to make such comments? After all, fans remember him punching Jordan Poole in the face last summer.
Draymond Green’s Punch On Jordan Poole Caused The Warriors To Lose Trust In Each Other
Draymond Green has fulfilled the role of a leader for the Golden State Warriors for several years. He may not dominate a game in a traditional way, but he surely knows how to lift up the morale of the team.
But when Green punched Poole in the face following a heated altercation during the offseason, he essentially lost that power in the locker room. Many believed that it didn’t have an impact on the Warriors’ chemistry, head coach Steve Kerr responded differently after the team was eliminated from the 2023 playoffs.
“I think some of that was lost this year, for sure,” Kerr said. “There’s no hiding from it, the incident with Draymond and Jordan at the beginning of the year played a role in that. It’s hard for that not to impact a team. Anytime some trust is lost, then it makes the process much more difficult, and there was some trust lost. That’s as blunt as I can be. The only way to correct the course is to continue to communicate with players and coaches and those relationships have to be built, the bonds have to be built.”
If Green understands what he said during his podcast, he will try to make sure that his relationship with Poole gets reconciled before the start of the 2023-24 NBA season. Otherwise, the Dubs may have another disappointing campaign.
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