“I’m very confident I can eliminate the antics,” Draymond Green said after Steve Kerr welcomed him back to practice following his suspension.
SAN FRANCISCO — While the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerrwelcomed Draymond Green into practice after indefinite suspensionBrandin Podziesmki initiated a round of applause.
But Draymond Green I didn’t think he deserved that.
“I’ve cost my team a lot. I’ve cost this organization a lot,” he said. Draymond Green at a news conference on Tuesday.
Draymond Green He spent the last three and a half weeks in therapy, part of the requirements that the NBA established for him to return after hitting the Phoenix Suns center, Jusuf NurkicDecember 12th.
Draymond Green had his first press conference after returning to Warriors training. Photo: Getty
During your first session, your therapist stated the conclusion clearly and simply: Don’t do these sessions to check a box of requirements or you’ll be wasting everyone’s time.
Green He said it was about figuring out what kind of help he really needed to better resolve what was causing his aggressive outbursts on the court. So he leaned into the process.
“It was very easy to open up (to therapy) from a personal point of view because I needed to recover, refocus and recalibrate,” Green said. “It’s hard to see things when you’re just in them… it’s hard to see what needs to be seen.”
He did not touch a basketball for the first 10 days of his suspension.
During a call with his agent, Rich Paul, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and coach Rick Celebrini, he became tense when they mentioned an expected return date.
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“Basketball was the least important thing to me. I needed a break,” Green said. “One of the best things for me was not waking up the next day thinking, OK, I have to do this job.”
When Green felt ready to start exercising again, that in itself felt like therapy, he said.
Green insisted his self-reflection this time wasn’t because the league stepped in and told him he had to do it. But it was because he felt that he had time dedicated.
“Part of the indefinite return was about being in a better space, to allow my mind to process what it looks like to be in a better space.”
During his five-game suspension three weeks before this one, the one for putting Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold, Green said his mind was completely focused on his first game, rather than why he was suspended. .
The same goes for when he was suspended for one game during the first round of last year’s playoffs after stomping on Sacramento king Domantas Sabonis. Or when he took time away from the team after punching former teammate Jordan Poole in training camp last season.
The Warriors, as a team and organization, are also hoping this suspension will lead to different results.
“I’m just open-minded,” Kerr said. “…He’s obviously still a big part of this and a big part of our leadership. He’s going to resume that role. But he needs the awareness that comes with what he just went through and what he’s put the team through. , also.”
Kerr said there will be a “no more buts” rule with Green, meaning that when an apology is needed or given, “there cannot be an explanation that follows the apology.” That has often been the case for Green when she has found herself in some sort of disagreement or trouble.
When Green returns (he practiced for the first time Tuesday and will participate fully for the rest of the week, including scrimmages), he feels like he has no time to waste. During their 13 games away, the Warriors have struggled. They are 12th in the Western Conference with a 17-19 record. Their starting lineup and his rotation have been in disarray and his defense the last two games has been nonexistent.
The hope is that Green can help. But there is no date set for his return to the game. That green light will be given not only by the team’s performance staff, but also by Kerr and Green’s teammates.
While he waits, Green tries to give everything he has to his team.
“This is not the time to come back and say, ‘Okay, I’ll take my time and come back when I can.’ No, you caused this yourself. You’re not gracious,” Green said.
Whenever Green is cleared to play, all eyes will be on his behavior and interactions with opponents and referees.
As someone whose fire has been touted as an asset to his team, there is a question as to whether Green will be able to strike the right balance of bringing fuel, without getting into a situation that could put him in trouble.
Green said his goal is not to go back and worry about crossing the line, although he has put an emphasis on understanding and knowing where the line is.
“When I think about these situations, can I eliminate the antics? I’m very confident that I can eliminate the antics,” Green said. “And I’m very confident that if I do that, no one will care about how I play basketball (or) how I behave in basketball. It’s the antics. That’s the focus. It’s not about changing who I am completely.” .You don’t change the spots on a leopard.
“I’m not going to set an unrealistic set of expectations…can I accept that my antics have been over the top? Of course. Can I eliminate them? Of course.”
2024-01-10 00:17:00
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