Draymond Green testing limits of Steph Curry’s steadfast loyalty with latest incident, indefinite suspension

For 12 years, four titles, and countless obstacles both on and off the court, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson have looked the modern sports landscape dead in the eyes and sent it whimpering in the opposite direction. In a world of ubiquitous trade demands, free-agent coups and never-ending holdouts, the unique trio has persevered and thrived by displaying one value above all else: Loyalty.

Loyalty to the franchise. Loyalty to the Bay Area. Most importantly, loyalty to each other.

One could argue that Green’s now-infamous chokehold of Rudy Gobert which earned him a five-game suspension in mid-November stemmed from a place of staunch allegiance. “I don’t live my life with regrets,” Green said after the incident. “I’ll come to a teammate’s defense any time that I’m in a position to come to a teammate’s defense.” A noble excuse for an otherwise intolerable act.

However, Green’s latest disappointment — a hard smack to the side of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic’s head that has landed him an indefinite suspension from the league — is testing the limits of the very loyalty that he professes to uphold. This is reckless. This is performative. This is dangerous.

This. Is. Enough.

Less than two months ago, former Warriors general manager Bob Myers was asked how he would handle James Harden’s longstanding trade demand. The answer, for the 2016-17 NBA Executive of the Year, was simple: Go to your star player and do what he says. It didn’t take a world-renowned mentalist to read between the lines. Myers had dealt with plenty of issues throughout his 12-year tenure with Golden State, and only one man’s opinion mattered when it came to making difficult decisions — particularly regarding Green’s multiple and varied disruptions.

“Steph Curry’s importance level is the top of this building. Mine was this [lowers his hand to the floor],” Myers said on ESPN in late October. “I go to him and I go listen, ‘What do you want?’ If he’s not happy, it doesn’t matter. That ends the whole conversation.

“Draymond Green, he said I screwed things up all the time. I’d go call Draymond, ‘What’d I do wrong? Why’d you say that?’ I’ve been through this stuff. And then I’d call Curry and I’d say, ‘Steph, what do you wanna do?’ And he’s like, ‘We’re better with Draymond.’ “

And there you have it. A blatant, unmitigated expression of the power Curry possesses over the direction of the franchise he brought to global prominence.

Why is Draymond still a Warrior after 19 ejections, an NBA Finals suspension that likely cost them another title, an organization-issued suspension for hurling mid-game insults at then-teammate Durant, a punch to the face of Jordan Poole and, now, two more suspensions just 23 games into the 2023-24 season?

Because Steph Curry has wanted him there. Case closed. End of story.

But now, with the Warriors reeling at 10-13 and the wretched stench of a decomposing dynasty more suffocating than ever, it’s possible that Green’s antics and distractions finally outweigh his irreplaceable on-court value to the team. If current Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. approaches Curry, as Myers used to, and asks him what should happen with Green moving forward, what’s the answer?

With three years and roughly $75 million remaining on his contract, Green would be difficult to trade. But, with the revitalized way he’s been playing the last few seasons, it wouldn’t be out of the question for a contender to take a hard look at one of the best defenders and playmakers in the game. The final go-ahead, however, would likely have to come from Curry.

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When asked about Green’s latest incident on Tuesday, the normally polished and thoughtful Curry sounded exasperated — searching for words that were simultaneously foreign and all too familiar.

“We always told him you can’t change who you are as a player and the competitive spirit and you have, the physicality that you play with,” Curry said. “But you can’t give people — people reasons to leave, reasons to look at you a certain way and to have to go judge-and-jury every single incident that happens. So, this is tough because we need him out there and obviously the ejection changed the momentum or the emotions of the game.”

Curry said all the right things, as he always does, but the end of his response reverberated similarly to the message the league sent with its indefinite suspension. It’s time to change — truly change — before we can allow Green back on the basketball court.

“That’s gonna be a challenge. We’re here to support him. We’re here to have confidence in him to be able to do that. And yeah, we obviously need him to win.”