At this point, the whole world knows the mess unfolding in Golden State. Just months after winning the title together, Jordan Poole and Draymond Green are now beefing after Green threw a punch toward Poole during practice last week.
In the following days, Draymond has done his best attempt at damage control, making a statement of apology to the media before committing to spending some time apart and away from everyone.
But with the season quickly approaching, and Dray’s return imminent, the Dubs have no choice but to face this crisis head-on, and that’s exactly what they tried to do during a press conference this week.
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Drops The Honest Truth About Draymond Green Standing’s Within Warriors Organization
Kerr has been pressed with questions about this incident non-stop since pre-season began, but he finally addressed the issue fully on Wednesday, giving his final and official statements on Draymond, Poole, and both of their involvements in the situation at large.
“Any criticism that we face here is fair,” Kerr said. “Draymond, you guys all know from covering him for a long time, he sort of lives on the edge as far as his spot on our basketball team. He’s always right in the thick of everything, and a couple times in his career he’s crossed the line. He crossed the line with Kevin whatever year that was, and he crossed the line the other night in a much worse fashion. I would hope that everybody would respect the fact that we feel like we know Draymond and this entire group very well, and that while this is not an easy decision, we feel like this is the best decision we can make going forward. I trust Draymond that he will stay on that edge and not go over it.”
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Kerr also described his team’s current ordeal as the biggest crisis he has faced since he was hired years ago.
“This is the biggest crisis we’ve ever had since I’ve been coach here — really serious stuff. We’re not perfect. Our team isn’t perfect. Bob and I have definitely made our share of mistakes over the years, but we’re going to lean on the experience we have together over the last nine years and trust that this is the best decision for our team.”
Needless to say, the scars of this incident are going to take some time to heal. Over the next few days and weeks, it will be imperative for the Warriors to be aggressive in their approach to all of this, or they could face issues that linger well into the season.
Either way, Draymond Green must tread carefully and avoid any more mistakes — or it could risk his future with the team he loves so much.