Steve Kerr Says Draymond Green Open to Bench Role, Warriors HC Not Considering Change
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said forward Draymond Green is open to moving to the bench. However, Kerr added that he's not considering such a move at this time, as relayed by Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
"He's told me," Kerr told reporters Wednesday after practice regarding Green's willingness to head to the bench. "He told me, this year, 'I'll go to the bench if you need me to.' I know what Draymond is about. He's about winning."
The Warriors are scuffling through an up-and-down 15-15 season, although they are on an upswing now amid a two-game win streak.
Ultimately, Kerr doesn't want Green heading to the second unit, and he explained why.
"That's not even a consideration for me right now," he said.
"Because I'm really excited about this starting lineup: Steph, Draymond, Moses (Moody), (Quinten Post), Jimmy, I think it's a great starting lineup for us, because we get the size and shooting of Quentin next to Dray, which takes the pressure off of him. And Dre is at his best next to Steph. He should play most of his minutes with Steph. Those two guys are incredible together.
"So, the idea of bringing him off the bench, I understand it in theory, like, well, maybe we can get this or get that. That's all we do as a staff is think about this stuff. All day long. And we've had every discussion about how to make our team the best. I'm convinced it's with what we're doing right now."
The 35-year-old Green, a four-time All-Star, four-time NBA champion and two-time All-NBA player, is averaging 8.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
Last year's Warriors team showed great potential after adding Jimmy Butler via trade from the Miami Heat. A 25-26 start gave way to a 23-8 finish, and the No. 7 seed Warriors proceeded to win its play-in tournament game before defeating the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in the first round.
Things looked promising in the second round against the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately, Stephen Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 1 and missed the remainder of the playoff series, which Minnesota won four games to one.
This year's team hasn't captured the same magic shown at the back end of last season, and the offense is to blame. The Warriors sport the No. 20 offensive rating in the NBA, per Basketball-Reference, while posting the No. 3 defensive rating. Ultimately, the Warriors aren't getting a ton of offensive help outside the efforts of Curry (28.7 PPG) and Butler (19.9 PPG).
Still, the Warriors are just 30 games into the season and sit eighth in the Western Conference, so there's no reason to panic yet. It's clear Kerr isn't.
The Warriors hope to move over .500 on Christmas Day when they host the Dallas Mavericks.
