Unity tested: BRUCE JENKINS
Tight team bonds frayed, but likely to heal
If the Warriors intend to win another title this season, and carry on their magnificence through the opening of San Francisco’s Chase Center next year, they’re going to need harmony between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant. In the wake of Green’s onegame suspension, announced Tuesday, it’s going to be a challenge for everyone to make that happen.
At first, it was believed that Monday night’s squabble in Los Angeles — Green and Durant in volatile arguments both during and after the game — was “just one of those things” in the NBA, the type of internal friction that
occurs on every team. But it was far more serious than that. Head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers made the stunning decision to punish Green, effectively siding with Durant.
It’s the last thing they’d ever want to do. Durant’s future with the team is a topic of constant conversation in NBA circles, and the Warriors would hope to suppress that, not encourage speculation among fans trying to enjoy the here and now. The players aren’t wild about Durant’s indifference, either. It’s hard to generate team spirit, a hallmark of this dynasty, when one of the key players won’t commit to staying beyond this season.
And when Monday night’s argument broke out on the bench, at the end of regulation time, Green went right for the throat. You don’t trash-talk about people’s money in sports, because the subject is simply out of bounds, but video evidence showed Green getting personal, ridiculing Durant’s free-agency stance while repeatedly calling him a “bitch.” Durant was so upset, he uncharacteristically left Staples Center in a hurry before reporters were allowed into the locker room.
It was nasty, no doubt. But cause for a suspension? It makes one wonder if something happened in the locker room, or on the flight, to warrant such a consequence. In any case, it was a new and somewhat disturbing stance by the Warriors in their relationship with Green.
Whatever happened in the past — confrontations with Kerr, disputes with teammates, the slew of technical fouls, an occasional brush with the law — management has been admirably patient with Green. For good reason, too. Anyone familiar with Green knows he has a continent-sized heart, with the kind of passionate, all-for-one attitude that has been greatly responsible for those three championships.
When Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 Finals — essentially costing the Warriors a championship, as it turned out — Myers was so compassionate, he watched the game with Green from a suite at the neighboring Coliseum during an A’s game.
Perhaps Monday was a last straw kind of incident, forcing Kerr and Myers to make a definitive statement. Neither man lent any insight into the incident, or the specific reason for the suspension, during pregame news conferences. At issue is how soon Green will put it behind him — and that goes for Durant as well.
It is well documented that Durant reacts irrationally to criticism, even if comes from faceless low-lifes popping off on Twitter. Never forget that he and Green often resemble a pair of brothers, fussing and fighting but always having each other’s back. Is this the sort of crisis that vanishes into irrelevance before long?
Similarly, Green isn’t one to let things go. This is a man who can recite the names of all 34 players drafted ahead of him, in order, in 2012. He remains incensed over that NBA-ordered suspension in the ’16 Finals, knowing people were pointing directly at him for the Warriors’ collapse. And now the team has ordered him to stay home, without pay, on a game night.
As for the play that triggered Monday night’s mayhem, it was a monumental screwup. With five seconds remaining and no timeout called, Green rebounded a missed shot and sprinted up the floor, as he should have. There was no time to waste, and he handles that assignment with dispatch. He had the option of immediately dishing to Durant, who was furiously clapping his hands, demanding the ball. But Green didn’t, instead dribbling into heavy traffic, losing the ball and stumbling to the floor.
With Durant and Klay Thompson in the game, there was no way Green intended to shoot. Meanwhile, a pouting Durant made no effort to get into the frontcourt, thus removing himself from any kind of decent shot if Green had kept possession.
Right then, on the bench, the Warriors’ selfless team spirit fell apart. “Pass the damn ball,” Durant shouted, pounding his chest. In the big picture, Durant was correct; he’s the best shooter on the court. But that was a me-first gesture the Warriors can do without, whether it’s Durant or anyone else.
Durant made himself available to a large group of reporters after the Warriors’ 110-103 win Tuesday over the Hawks, but he had little to offer on the Green dispute. He said they hadn’t talked things out (“I’m sure we will, it’s a long season ahead”) and wouldn’t say whether Green’s comments had crossed a line. “I’m gonna keep it in-house,” he said. “S— happens in the NBA. I’m trying my best to move on and be the best player I can be.”
Perspective: At the end of last season, the about-to-retire David West revealed without specifics that the Warriors had some serious internal problems. The players had his back, not one of them leaking any valuable information of any kind. As long as Stephen Curry leads this team — and it’s a shame he wasn’t able to help defuse Monday night’s crisis, having stayed home because of injury — we can expect the same brand of silence. That’s how a truly unified team works.
The question now: How unified are the Warriors? Great teams are able to turn friction into a positive, and the feeling here is that Green’s suspension will be a long-forgotten topic two months from now. But we’ve reached a turning point in a season still short of Thanksgiving. The Warriors can engage in small-time bickering or resume a pursuit of history that would make them unquestionably the greatest team of modern times. Easy choice, wouldn’t you say?