Whatever Draymond Green does, no one seems to be really surprised.
For example, in the Warriors' 100-102 loss to the Hornets, Green suffered two technical fouls in succession at the end of the game because of his emotions, not only was he expelled from the game, but also gave the opponent Hornets a free throw to equalize the score, which led to the subsequent Rochelle's back-up jump shot. But within the Warriors, no one seems to be shocked by green's move.
Because the warriors up and down also understand that the flames that drive him forward in Green's body are actually the same driving force for the warriors to move forward. They knew from the beginning that the fire would sometimes burn on their opponents, but sometimes they would "set themselves on fire."
Still, the Warriors are well aware of the other side of Green. On February 22, local time, Green talked for the first time about his uncool actions in the last moments of the battle with the Hornets in a video interview with reporters. The player, who has suffered a lot of criticism and criticism in the past few days, expressed his willingness to accept all the accusations against him, but also said that if he encounters the same situation in the future, he will try to control himself.
This is a "three-dimensional" Grimm, the one the Warriors have loved for the past decade.
And he is not just talking, in the game against the Knicks on the 24th Beijing time, Green changed back to the familiar "chasing dreams" - he got 7 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the whole game. He was already full of "fire" that night, but it was exactly the energy the Warriors needed and a key factor in their eventual 114-106 victory.
"He's a winner," Warriors coach Kerr, who had previously criticized Green, said after the game with the Knicks, "he's playing so competitively, he's such a smart player, he's so versatile on the court when he's thinking right and focused." Overall, he's a great player, and his influence on the game is unmatched by the vast majority of people in this league. When he plays like this in game after game, everyone on our team will understand his value. ”
The reason why Kerr presents such a "contradictory" attitude against Green is partly because he needs such a player to charge the team on the court, and on the other hand, Kerr also knows the role that Green can play in front of the younger generation of warriors today. Although the vast majority of young players like to play with Stephen Curry, the person who has more "say" in the locker room and can resonate with everyone with his "second-round rookie" status has to be Green.
More than one young Warriors player has said that Green is an idol in their minds because he was able to get his place on the team and in the league today, completely on his own. His constant eruption of emotions on the pitch was felt by everyone around him.
Two years ago, that summer, the Warriors announced its dissolution after five consecutive years in the playoffs with Durant's departure. As the team's leaders, Green and Curry went from a team full of veterans to a veteran team full of young people. At the beginning of this change, Curry realized that leading the young team forward would be the biggest challenge.
"We have a lot of energy on the pitch and we can keep that level of energy at a very high level every night," Curry said, "but we still have to pay attention to how to develop these players, to develop their self-confidence, and we have to encourage them to talk to them when they are in a state of ups and downs." This is actually a very long process, and there are no shortcuts to take, only if you have experienced and felt it. I think one of the best things about our team is that everyone in the dressing room wins or loses, we have confidence in each other and we respect each other so that we can grow together. ”
The issue Curry talked about is also one of the responsibilities on Green's shoulders. After experiencing the final moments of the Hornets' gaffe, Green also admitted that an important reason why he lost his cool on the court was that Curry temporarily withdrew due to illness in that game, and he felt that his performance on the field disappointed his young teammates.
"It's an important impact," Green said, "and now that we don't have those veterans in the dressing room, no one is going to set an example for you." You need to look for it yourself, which is a very different situation for me. Still, you have to do that because that's part of growing up, and you can't be a young person forever. ”
Although Green occasionally loses his cool mind, Kerr and the Warriors have maintained patience with him many times, and one of the important reasons is that they believe that Green can make his leadership better through his own adaptation and adjustment.
"In the past, David West was the one who could physically pull Draymond out of adversity, and he would release his stress by hugging him or 'wrestling' with him," Cole recalls. But now that we're a young team, young people may not be as receptive to such a move. I think Draymond understands that, and we all understand that, but it takes time to adapt, and we try to help him manage his emotions as much as possible. After all, he is such a competitive and 'flammable' person that he sometimes loses his cool. We've been trying to keep him from crossing that border, but most of the time it's up to him. ”
Although Green is prone to losing his cool mind on the court, Curry, as an old teammate, has always had confidence in him. "We've been through so much together that the respect we have for each other has reached the highest level," Curry said, "and no matter what we're going through or what situation we're facing, it's not going to change." I can't tell you exactly how, but I know how to build spiritual communication with him and keep him focused. He's the same with me, he'll challenge me on the pitch and keep my fighting spirit on the pitch in every way. So we're going to continue that way, just to steer him in the right direction. ”
In the blink of an eye, Green will soon be 10 years old when he enters the league, and his strong fighting spirit has not dissipated with the passage of time. In the most recent game against the Knicks, the opponent's coach Thibodeau worked with Green for a while as an assistant coach to coach the old K during the 2016 Rio Olympics. After meeting Green again, he bluntly said that a player like Green needs guidance, not rudely "silence" him.
"Steve (Cole) has a great saying: An emotionally rich guy, emotions are his energy, what drives him forward. So, you can't take away his emotions," Thibodeau said after the game against the Warriors, "Draymond is a special player and you certainly don't want to take away his emotions." But sometimes if he crosses the line, you need to tell him. What he brings to the team is so special and unique, and his team has become what it is because of his existence. ”
This is actually the reason why Cole has always supported Green. If the Warriors needed a very "well-behaved" player, they wouldn't have developed Green from the start. Kerr knew in his heart that Green's strength could help him and even the entire team reach the destination they wanted.
"If you look at his past grades, he was a winner in high school, a winner at Michigan State, a winner in the NBA, and he was such a person," Kerr said. That's the way it is, and we're happy to have a player like him. We always have to be prepared to deal with his outbursts, but deep inside him he still loves his teammates and the team. He had a fiery heart, which made him always ready for battle. ”