Now the backbone of perhaps the most unstoppable dynasty in NBA history, things weren’t always smooth sailing between forward Draymond Green and his Golden State Warriors.
There were ups and downs throughout his ongoing six-year tenure with the Warriors but Green has managed to channel that into fiery play and immense success. Green specifically used to be at odds with head coach Steve Kerr quite often, as they butted heads on more than one occasion. In fact, the relationship between the two became so fractured at one point, that Green thought he would be traded in 2016. Following from Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck:
He feared the relationship had been fractured, that the Warriors would choose Kerr over him. That he’d be traded.
“One hundred percent,” Green tells B/R. “Especially with the success that he was having as a coach. Like, you just don’t get rid of that.”
In his lowest moments, Green expressed his fears of being traded to both his mother and [Tom] Izzo. “We all thought Dray would have been traded” after the Oklahoma incident, Babers-Green says.
The Oklahoma incident Green’s mother is referring to was a particular blowout between her son and Kerr during hafltime of a nationally-televised game against the OKC Thunder. The two had to be separated by members of the team due to a dispute over the way Green was being used.
However, since then, Green and Kerr have formed an almost unbreakable bond on their way to multiple championship runs. Though the pair has had their differences, Golden State’s success wouldn’t have come about had they not figured out a way to get along.
Draymond Green is still under contract with Golden State for two more seasons, so a split between the sides won’t come anytime soon if at all. As the heartbeat and fulcrum of the NBA’s best team, Green will continue to provide his on-court excellence as the Warriors resume their quest for their third championship victory in the past four seasons.
