The Golden State Warriors blew away the Orlando Magic 120-97 at Chase Center on Monday, but the biggest talking point of the night was a heated altercation between Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr. Green and Kerr were going at each other during a timeout in the third quarter, and the head coach was asked about the incident during his postgame press conference.
“Yeah, we got into it obviously, and I took the timeout just because I thought we lost our focus there a little bit, and so we had it out a little bit,” Kerr said. “And he made his decision to go back to the locker room to cool off, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Everything is private, and yeah, I got nothing further to add.”
Kerr had called this timeout with over eight minutes remaining in the period with the Warriors down 71-66. Green had committed a turnover not long before that and was also seen arguing with an official. You’d have thought the four-time All-Star might cool down a bit once he sat down, but the opposite happened.
Green headed to the locker room after his exchange with Kerr and didn’t come out for the rest of the quarter. The 35-year-old finally returned to the bench before the start of the fourth but didn’t take off his warmups and played no further part in the game.
Kerr made it clear here that Green had chosen to go to the locker room himself and that he hadn’t sent him away. As for his not re-entering the game, that was the coach’s call.
“Well, he left,” Kerr stated. “He went back to the locker room, and so we moved forward, and the guys played great. It’s a hell of a win. Really good second half, and I’m very proud of the team. And yeah, like I said, nothing more to discuss from my end.”
You’d have thought the Warriors would struggle a bit without their leader on defense, but they didn’t. They were up 89-83 by the end of the third and dominated in the fourth to improve to 15-15 on the season.
It wouldn’t have been a surprise if Green had opted against talking to the media after this game, but he did. He spoke about the incident and his decision to leave the bench in his postgame press conference.
“Temper spilled over, and I just thought it was best that I got out of there,” Green said. “I don’t think there was a situation where it was going to get better. So it was just best to remove myself. That’s it.”
As for what caused the argument, Green wasn’t interested in revealing much, just like Kerr.
“Basketball,” Green stated. “It’s what we do. We play basketball. It’s an emotional game. People lose their emotions sometimes. It happens. It is what it is. We’ve been at this now for a long time. So sometimes you with people for a long time, there’s a level of comfort, and it happens. We move forward.”
Green, who had nine points (4-5 FG), seven rebounds, and two assists against the Magic, is also confident this incident won’t linger. When asked why he felt that way, he simply stated that the previous ones hadn’t, and they kept winning.
Draymond Green’s History Of Problematic Behavior
As Green alluded to, this is far from the first time he has caused problems. He has a history of problematic behavior, and we might have seen the worst of him a couple of years ago.
In October 2022, Green infamously punched his then-teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a Warriors practice, and Kerr has stated that was the moment he was angriest with him. Then, in April 2023, he stomped on Domantas Sabonis during a playoff game against the Sacramento Kings.
Months later, in November 2023, Green put Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and followed that up by striking then-Phoenix Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic in the face in December. He was suspended indefinitely after the Nurkic incident and went to counselling to fix his issues.
Green at least hasn’t gone around hitting people since he returned from that suspension, but his temper continues to get the better of him from time to time.
Green was just ejected in the 119-116 win over the Suns on Saturday, and for him to get into it with Kerr right after that is far from ideal. You do wonder if a time will come when the Warriors feel he isn’t worth the headaches he causes.
We have Green as one of the six Warriors players most likely to be traded this season. We also came up with five trade scenarios involving him that the team would most likely accept.
No move is imminent as of now, though, and Green will suit up for the Warriors when they take on the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center on Thursday at 5 PM ET.
