The Golden State Warriors saw Draymond Green have to carry the defensive workload as the team’s starting center this season. And while it worked after the team acquired Jimmy Butler and into the postseason, Steve Kerr said it’s not something he wants do a lot of throughout the regular season.
Draymond Green agrees with his head coach.
Warriors’ Draymond Green responds to Steve Kerr’s center comments
Draymond Green has been one of the best defenders of his generation, despite only being 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7. Throughout the years, he’s taken on the challenge of being the team’s defensive anchor, often times defending players much taller and stronger than him.
It’s something the Warriors can do in the postseason, but not something that head coach Steve Kerr wants to do much during the regular season.
“I don’t want to start next season with Draymond as our starting center,” Kerr said of Green. “I think it’s doable for the last 30 games like we did this year, but you see the toll it takes on him.”
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During the latest episode of the Draymond Green show with Baron Davis, Green touched on Kerr’s comments and agreed with the Warriors head coach about the toll it takes on his body.
“I’ve been saying that all year,” Baron Davis said to Green. “When Draymond Green does not have to assume all of the defensive responsibilities, it makes the engine turn, right?”
“God bless his heart,” Green responded to Kerr’s comments. “It was real. Playing the five, it’s too much. And I’m always down to do it, as you know, bro, like any challenge you’re talking about, but it’s a hard battle every night. Guys who outweigh me by 60 to 80 pounds, four inches, five inches, six, seven inches taller than me. Like I come out in the first half because I still got my legs. Then I come on the second half where you’ve been battling. I don’t think people understand the toll of anchoring the defense requires. Like that means every possession, I have to put myself in a position to stop a fire. I’m cut out for it whenever our organization need to go to it. I’m right here, let’s do it. But I agree with Steve, we can have a different starting center and at some point if we need to go to that, cool, but it’s a lot.”
“Yeah, you need a matchup,” Baron Davis added. “You can’t be matched up with everybody and you switching out to a one, you switching out to Anthony Edwards, you switching out to Julius Randle, you switching out to Naz Reid, you got Rudy Gobert, you got to stand him up, you got [Alperen] Sengun, you got [Steven] Adams, it becomes a toll.”
In 68 appearances this season, Green averaged 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 block 29 minutes per game. The playoff run proved difficult following the hamstring injury of Stephen Curry’s, but the blueprint is in place for a healthy Warriors team to have success.
The Warriors will have a long offseason ahead of them, falling short of an NBA title despite acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline.
