Green happy for KD, but says don’t count out Golden State
In some ways, Draymond Green is pleased Kevin Durant left the Warriors for Brooklyn via free agency this summer.
He’s happy for Durant, still a good friend, who exercised his right to decide where he wanted to play basketball. And, more oddly, Green is actually thrilled about the Warriors being an underdog again after a five-year run as the NBA’s overwhelming favorites.
Speaking with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in a wide-ranging interview Wednesday, Green talked about how Durant’s decision impacts Golden State in a good way, why he was always going to resign with the Warriors, and how Steve Kerr will finally get to really coach again.
The Warriors’ emotional leader emphasized there are no hard feelings about Durant choosing to sign with the Nets.
“You know, Kevin is my brother,” Green said, noting he had just spoken with Durant on the phone. “He came to Golden State for three seasons. We won two championships … if someone would’ve told me, ‘Man, Kevin Durant’s gonna come to the Warriors and you guys are gonna win two championships and then have a shot at winning a third,’ would you take that? In a heartbeat. And so that was a major success. That’s my brother, and I’m happy for him.”
Still, Green is also pleased that losing Durant and Andre Iguodala has made the Warriors a decided underdog for the first time in the Kerr era.
“I’m excited to go into this season and not know we’re gonna win the championship,” insisted Green, who thrives on using motivating factors, particularly those such as disrespect. “But know that no matter what, we’re gonna compete like we can and possibly do it. I’m excited for that challenge.
“You know, being the underdog, it’s been a while since we’ve been the underdog. But it brings that underdog chip back, and I miss that chip. I’m pretty sure Steph (Curry) missed that chip. And some of the stuff Klay (Thompson’s) been texting me this summer, I’m positive he misses the chip.”
Nonetheless, he’s a bit incredulous some experts wonder if the Warriors will even make the playoffs.
“That’s crazy to me,” he said. “That’s total disrespect.”
Green also likes that two new starters, guard D’Angelo Russell and center Willie Cauley-Stein, come in with something to prove.
Even in signing his four-year, $100 million contract extension this summer, Green wanted to prove something. He wanted to show the Warriors how committed he was to keeping things rolling in San Francisco. In truth, leaving was never in his plans.
“I got two guys that I’ve been rollin’ with since the time I stepped into this league in Steph and Klay,” Green said. “We started this whole Golden State thing when it wasn’t so sexy.
“Why would I get to this point, where we done built this entire organization and bail on it? You don’t bail on your baby. The Golden State Warriors, that’s our baby.”
Being an underdog could also re-energize Kerr, Green theorized.
“For the first time in numerous amount of years … I mean, Steve Kerr’s a great coach, but he will actually get to coach,” Green told Nichols. “You know, when you have a team like we had, I mean, let’s just be quite frank about it, Steve didn’t coach that team every single night. You know, there’s times where every single night, yes, he gets to coach the team, but to be able to actually coach every single day, every single night — you know, that’s another, not necessarily challenge, but something to bring life to the coaching staff.”