Warriors’ Steve Kerr shoulders blame for heated Draymond Green bench incident originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The incident between Draymond Green and Steve Kerr is water under the bridge.
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A video surfaced online during the Warriors’ 120-97 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday that showed a heated discussion between Green and Kerr on the team’s bench in the third quarter that concluded with the veteran forward walking off into the locker room.
Both Green and Kerr addressed the incident after the game, admitting that tempers boiled over, but expressed confidence that they would be able to move past it.
It appears they have.
Kerr spoke to local reporters after practice on Wednesday, and shared where things stand between him and Green while shouldering the blame for the incident.
“We talked today, we had a great chat,” Kerr said. “Frankly… Monday night was not my finest hour. That was a time I needed to be calm in the huddle. So I regret my actions in that exchange. I apologized to Dray, he apologized to me, we both apologized to the team. These things, they happen. Especially when you get two incredibly competitive people like Dray and me. Over the 12 years we’ve been together, this has happened occasionally. I’m not proud of it. We had a great chat.
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“I care so much about Draymond. And the relationship we have is like family. And like family, you go through ups and downs. My number one goal, honestly, is for him to finish his career as a Warrior, with us, fighting — metaphorically, not literally — and competing together. Until we’re both done. And I believe that’s going to happen. Because I believe in Draymond and I believe in myself, and I believe in everything we’ve built for the last 12 years.” (h/t The San Francisco Standard’s Danny Emerman)
Kerr revealed that both he and Green also discussed the incident with the team and apologized for it and said he expects “the very best” from Green in Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center.
“I do,” Kerr said when asked if he thought the air within the team was clear now. “I think there’s always going to be dynamics within a team, any team, that exist all season long. And it’s the coach’s job and the leaders of the team’s job to help guys through those circumstances. We have issues just like every other team has issues. But we have to work through them.
“I believe this was a major step in that happening. I feel really good about where our team is on the floor, about where we’re heading. I see the potential to do exactly what we did last year. To really go on a run and give ourselves a chance.”
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There has been plenty of outside speculation surrounding Green’s future in Golden State, especially since Monday night’s incident. However, Kerr believes it’s clear that Green wants to finish his illustrious NBA career with one team and one team only: The Warriors.
“Oh yeah. One of the things I love about Draymond is his loyalty … He’s loyal to the Warriors. Loyal to me. Loyal to Steph [Curry]. He wants to be here his whole career. I want nothing more than that. I love Draymond, love everything he’s meant to me, to the organization, to the Bay. He’s a complicated guy.
“He’d be the first to admit that. He’s very complex. But he’s undyingly loyal and passionate and I will go to bat for him as long as I’m coaching him here. Honestly, I’d go to bat for him 20 years from now when we haven’t been together. That’s how strongly I feel about him. And that’s how I want this thing to end with us, whenever that is.”
With the incident now behind them, Green, Kerr and the Warriors will re-focus and look to extend Golden State’s current winning streak to three games on Christmas Day against their old running mate, Klay Thompson, and the Mavericks.
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