Draymond Green open to coming off Warriors bench; Steve Kerr not interested originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – There is a growing sentiment that Warriors coach Steve Kerr might consider asking Draymond Green to take the path once tread by Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson.
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Leave the starting lineup and come off the bench.
Green, according to Kerr, would not oppose such a move.
“He’s told me,” Kerr said Wednesday after practice. “He told me, this year, ‘I’ll go to the bench if you need me to.’ I know what Draymond is about. He’s about winning.”
The thought of such a move is based mostly on the dynamic between Jimmy Butler III and Green. Each is most valuable with the ball in his hands and, naturally, each is diminished when playing off the ball. When both are on the floor with Stephen Curry, ball distribution sometimes gets stifled.
Another factor that makes it conceivable to bring Draymond off the bench is that neither he nor Butler is a spot-up shooter. Butler is an opportunistic shooter, and Green is a pass-first ballhandler who sometimes is a reluctant shooter.
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But Kerr is not ready to make any such change.
“That’s not even a consideration for me right now,” he said, “Because I’m really excited about this starting lineup: Steph, Draymond, Moses (Moody), (Quinten Post), Jimmy, I think it’s a great starting lineup for us, because we get the size and shooting of Quentin next to Dray, which takes the pressure off of him. And Dre is at his best next to Steph. He should play most of his minutes with Steph. Those two guys are incredible together.
“So, the idea of bringing him off the bench, I understand it in theory, like, well, maybe we can get this or get that. That’s all we do as a staff is think about this stuff. All day long. And we’ve had every discussion about how to make our team the best. I’m convinced it’s with what we’re doing right now.”
Kerr persuaded Iguodala to come off the bench in 2015-16 because his two-way versatility and intellect were better suited for the second unit than Harrison Barnes. Iguodala made only 25 starts over his final seven seasons, with two teams.
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Kerr’s decision to have Thompson come off the bench, much to Klay’s chagrin, was in hopes of finding a game-changing scorer with the second unit. That lasted only 14 games.
Though Kerr acknowledges that Green has spent more time working on his 3-point shooting from the corners – a reliable threat from the corners would an ideal asset for lineups featuring Curry and Butler – he’s not ready to make any adjustments.
Golden State’s current starting lineup is 2-1 and will play its fourth game on Thursday, Christmas Day, against the Dallas Mavericks.
