The Golden State Warriors have faced perhaps the most tumultuous season of the Stephen Curry era, marred by many off-the-court storylines, including the death of assistant coach Dejan Milojević and Klay Thompson‘s frustrations.
However, the most consistent issue this season has been Draymond Green‘s inability to avoid ejections. Green was given his most recent marching orders less than four minutes into their 101-93 win against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Head coach Steve Kerr appeared on the San Francisco radio station 95.7 The Game to discuss these events.
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Fires Back at Stephen Curry Critics
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr’s Comments About Warriors Stars
Curry cut a visibly frustrated figure following Green’s ejection.
Steph’s reaction to Draymond’s ejection pic.twitter.com/5TH5DYC9w1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2024
Kerr had this to say in reference to Curry’s reaction.
“For Draymond to get kicked out three minutes in, it was really unforgivable. I think Steph may have even been a little upset with himself for not calling Draymond out of there, but I think mostly it was just ‘come on man, we need this’. Steph is such a fighter, such a competitor, and I think all of that combined led to that reaction.”
Critics have hinted at a possible lack of leadership from the Warriors Hall of Fame point guard being culpable for Draymond’s continued antics, yet Kerr was quick to absolve Curry of any blame.
Steve Kerr on people questioning Steph’s leadership because of Draymond’s actions:
“(Draymond) is a grown man. He’s got to handle his own business. Any any mention of Steph being culpable is just ridiculous. The way Steph has carried our franchise represented our franchise for… pic.twitter.com/abZsErcMY7
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 29, 2024
Yet Kerr also praised Green for his conduct towards the officials prior to recent events.
“I think he’s found a really good balance of being competitive, feisty, playing with an edge, but not going overboard. All of that starts with just staying off the refs.
The 2016 NBA Coach of the Year later expressed his frustration with himself for not having addressed the situation with Green during a game against the Miami Heat the night before.
“I thought in the Miami game, he was on the refs too much. And I should’ve intervened, I should’ve talked to him after the game, and just reminded him that this all starts with being able to stay off the refs. And I didn’t. I’m upset with myself for that.
Warriors Need Green
This is Green’s fourth ejection of the year, the most of any season of his 12-year NBA career. The 34 year-old is the second-most ejected player in NBA regular season history with 19, trailing only Rasheed Wallace.
Golden State now needs Green more than ever as they face a tight battle to even make the play-in.
Kerr and Warriors Facing Tough Finish
The Warriors occupy the 10th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 38-34. The 11th-seeded Houston Rockets are only a game behind them in the standings. Led by Jalen Green, they’ve come out of nowhere to win 10 games in a row.
With only 10 games left in the regular season, Green and the rest of the Warriors will have to be on top of their game to avoid missing the play-in.
