Warriors coach Steve Kerr stands by Draymond Green’s punishment: ‘He needs to change’

Over the years we’ve grown used to Steve Kerr defending his Warriors cubs like a mama bear, always standing up for them even when they’ve made important mistakes. This has been the case throughout Draymond Green‘s extensive list of poor decisions, but this time even he’s had enough. 

After the Golden State forward punched Phoenix big man Jusuf Nurkic this week, the NBA decided to suspend him “indefinitely,” as he recently comes from a five-game ban after putting Rudy Gobert to a chokehold.

There is no going around it this time, the veteran star needs to learn. The Bay Area coach believe this is an opportunity for his player to change things around. “It’s about helping Draymond. It’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and make a change,” he said. “And that’s not an easy thing to do.”

“To me, this is about more than basketball. It’s about helping Draymond.”

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension “makes sense.”

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“That’s not something where you say, OK, five games, and then he’s going to be fine. The league did that [gave indefinite suspension]. The answer is not to pick a number [of games]. The answer is to help Draymond,” Kerr insisted.

Even though the Warriors team has been outspoken about standing by their player until he gets the help he needs, the squad’s head coach is convinced Green will change his behavior.

“This is not just about an outburst on the court. It’s about his life. It’s about someone who I believe in, someone I have known for decades, who I love for his loyalty,” Kerr explained. “The one who choked Rudy [Gobert], the one who took a wild flail at Jusuf, the one who punched Jordan [Poole] last year, that’s the guy who needs to change.”

Despite Nurkic being his latest victim, the Suns center doesn’t have any hard feelings. “I have a lot of respect for him, obviously, even before this,” the 29-year-old said. “I still have it. I don’t know what people go through. It’s not our problem, but he’s an NBA champion for me, Hall of Famer still.”

“It’s kind of sad to see people going in a bad direction,” Nurkic shared. “I want him to succeed and still be the Draymond we all know. I have no bad feelings or any hate towards him.”

Despite Draymond’s history of “unsportsmanlike acts”, Golden State will stand by him until he makes real progress

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is hopeful that an indefinite suspension will provided the time Green needs to make real progress.

“I think this is something that a lot of people may see as a problem, but we’re looking to turn it into a positive,” he said on Thursday, before the Warriors faced the Los Angeles Clippers.

“(Green is at) a point in his career and his life where we want to get some things straightened out, and maybe sometimes you need a jolt like that. But I think it’s been very positive, very open, and (we’re) extremely optimistic that we can get to where we need to go,” Dunleavy Jr. said.

The team’s GM insisted that Golden State will “help” their star forward during his absence, even though he never explained what kind of aid. According to the suspension, Draymond will be around the squad as much as possible, but he can’t be with the team during game nights.