Warriors Need Solutions ASAP for Their Draymond Green Problem

Draymond GreenChristian Petersen/Getty Images

Draymond Green’s basic numbers, particularly on offense, are as good as they’ve been in years. He’s shooting the ball well, distributing and providing his sometimes over-the-top brand of intensity on the other end.

But in 2023-24, “sometimes” is happening far too often for the Golden State Warriors.

Green has made just six appearances since his five-game suspension for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.

And midway through the sixth, he took exception to some handsy defense from Jusuf Nurkić, spun around and smacked the taste out of his mouth.

After the game, Green apologized to the Phoenix Suns big man and said he hadn’t intended to hit him, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Of course, we can’t really get into the head of Draymond. Certainties on his intentions are impossible to come by, but this is obviously far from his first time crossing a line.

The league cited his “history of unsportsmanlike acts” when handing down this season’s earlier suspension. It used the same phrase in April, when it suspended Green for a playoff game after he stomped on an already grounded Domantas Sabonis.

At the time of this publishing, discipline for Tuesday’s swing on Nurkić hasn’t been handed down, but you can bet it’s on the way. And you can bet “history” will be mentioned again.

This is his third incident in 2023 alone, and the pattern started long before then (it’s just becoming more common now).

For years, plenty of fans griped about Green’s style of play, but the Warriors and much of the media’s reactions ranged from ignoring it to defending it to, in some cases, praising it.

And honestly, that last form of reaction was probably fair.

Stephen Curry has obviously been the best player and face of the team throughout this dynastic run that started in 2014-15, but Green was often the emotional catalyst, and his game freed Curry up to do what he does best.

Beyond the defense, which was the under-appreciated aspect of Golden State’s success early on, Green’s ability to run sets and distribute allowed Curry to get off the ball and generate catch-and-shoot opportunities for himself with his movement.

From the start of 2014-15 through the end of 2022-23, and with the playoffs included, the Warriors were plus-13.2 points per 100 possessions with Green and Curry on the floor and plus-7.1 when Curry played without Green.

That’s a significant difference. It’s the kind of impact that probably motivated, at least in part, the excuses for when Draymond went too far.

But there was always the one incident you could point to where he didn’t come out unscathed. In the 2016 Finals, when he was one technical foul away from receiving a rule-mandated suspension, he took exception to LeBron James stepping over him, swiped at him and earned a suspension for Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

The result of that series is well known. Golden State was up 3-1, but it ultimately lost that championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers, thanks in large part to Green not being able to play in that first closeout opportunity.

And now, that one inexcusable moment may be getting some company.

The Warriors lost to the Suns on Tuesday. Green, of course, missed much of that game after his ejection. They went 2-3 during his earlier suspension.

His generally more erratic approach to games has been part of a reversal of the trend above. For most of a decade, Golden State almost always won Draymond’s minutes. It often won them big.

This season, the Warriors are minus-6.1 points per 100 possessions with Green on the floor and plus-3.9 when he’s off.

That suddenly negative impact should be enough for his team to change its tune on all of the above.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr eventually said Green went “too far” when he choked Gobert, but in the immediate aftermath, he justified it by claiming Gobert had his hands on Klay Thompson’s neck.

More pointed condemnations of the acts, from both Kerr and Curry, may be necessary. The former started to get there on Tuesday.

“We need him,” Kerr said postgame. “We need Draymond. He knows that. We’ve talked to him. He’s got to find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates.”

But if they really have already talked to him about this (after all these years it’s hard to imagine they haven’t), it might be time for more drastic interventions.

Does the rotation need to be tweaked? Again, the Warriors have actually been better when Green is off the floor this season. Perhaps more time against reserves would lead to a confidence boost.

Perhaps more media appearances from Kerr, Curry or Thompson in which they openly criticize the aforementioned history (or at least the more recent acts) could help. For a player who runs on as much emotion as Green, though, that could be quite a tightrope to walk.

Maybe longtime teammates like Curry, Thompson or Kevon Looney have to be more tuned into when it looks like Green’s temperature is rising. Perhaps they could intervene and get him to calm down or seek a technical before Green has a chance, but incidents like Tuesday’s often come out of nowhere.

The most extreme option—though it feels less so with each loss—is exploring the trade market for Draymond.

The Warriors’ payroll and luxury-tax payment are absurd for a team comfortably below .500. A shakeup would not be difficult for the front office to sell to the media and fans, even if it included a legend like Green. Heck, Draymond himself is making that sell job easier with moments like Tuesday’s.

Whatever the approach may be, it’s clear things cannot continue as is.

Golden State’s margin for error is as thin as it’s been during this era (the season played mostly without Curry notwithstanding).

Injuries appear to have finally caught up with Klay. His 15.4 points represent the lowest mark since his rookie year. He’s shooting a below-average 34.3 percent from three. Andrew Wiggins has been one of the worst players in the NBA. No, seriously. His minus-2.2 wins over replacement player (value over replacement player times 2.7) is tied with Jordan Poole for the league low. Chris Paul has done a solid job of stabilizing non-Curry minutes with his playmaking, but his shot is off, too. And while the young guys have had their moments, their inconsistency is unsurprising given their age.

In short, if the Warriors are going to dig their way out of this early hole, Green has to be better, and I’m not talking about those basic numbers.