Why “flawed” Draymond owes Steph, Warriors best this season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Like the Warriors open training camp this weekthe list of factors determining their direction this season is long enough to fill a book. It may start with whether Stephen Curry, 36, can maintain superhuman abilities, no less important is whether 34-year-old Draymond Green can complete an effective season without doing time in an NBA lockout.
Consider what the Warriors gain if Green has a season without suspensionsexcuses and apologies. Someone who can defend five positions, make winning plays on both ends, bring transferable energy and add IQ points to less savvy teammates.
Someone who could at least approach the career-high 39.5 percent shooting from Deep Green posted last season. Factoring in good enough health, all the other factors – reliable second scorer, rotation stability, productive second unit, etc. – rank lower than these two. If Curry can’t keep up or Green submits to another season of absence, nothing else will matter. The Warriors will be no better than mediocre.
Curry’s productive history give him graceso Green’s behavior is the greater risk. The more likely to fail. It has the central figures in Golden State’s orbit — Curry, coach Steve Kerr, general manager Mike Dunleavy, CEO Joe Lacob — holding their collective breath.
For now they are keeping the faith.
“I think he’s taken steps since last season, the events that happened, to remedy that,” Dunleavy said during the annual preseason executive news conference last week at Chase Center. “I have no doubt or hesitation as far as Draymond being available for those reasons. Sure, other things come up, there are injuries, things like that. He’s not getting any younger.
“But he’s in a good frame of mind. He is in a good place physically. He is a leader of our team, and we will rely on him a lot.”
If this sounds familiar, it’s because after every Draymond misstep, those at or near the top of the team’s organizational chart have always expressed optimism about the future. And they are all burned.
Draymond, to his credit, always owns his mistakes. But isn’t that what abusers do? Abuse and apologize?
It was the incident with Jusuf Nurkić last season, which followed the incident with Rudy Gobertwho followed punching teammate Jordan Poole during practice, which followed the beef with Kendrick Perkins, which followed the costly and gratuitous ejection in a loss to the Hornets, which followed the blast directed at then teammate Kevin Durantwhich followed the most famous of all, the actions that led to Draymond being suspended in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals ultimately lost by the Warriors.
“One of the most brutal things I’ve ever had to go through in my life,” Green said in retrospect. “If I played (Game 5), we win of course, so I feel like it’s my fault that we lost. . Absolutely my fault.”
This cycle fits a codependent relationship, which Kerr admitted as much to last April.
“I have so much faith in Draymond because I know him so well as a person,” Kerr said. “He is flawed. We are all flawed. But he’d be the first to tell you he’s probably more flawed than the rest, wouldn’t he. I mean, he’s the one who had these transgressions, not the other guys, it was him. He would be the first to tell you that.
“But he’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. He’s one of the most competitive, he’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. And yet he makes these decisions that hurt the team, that aren’t smart. So how do you reconcile all that? It’s really hard.”
If Green could have contained himself a little better, the Warriors might have won a few more championships over the last 10 seasons. Draymond blamed himself for some of the team’s shortcomings related to his behavior. He knows how important he is to success; his personal .669 career winning percentage trails only Kawhi Leonard among players currently on an NBA roster.
This pursuit of success is at the root of the franchise’s patience with Green. His value allowed him a single set of “rules” that he was allowed to challenge. To further illustrate this uniqueness, the Warriors gave Draymond a new contract last year knowing it could alienate Klay Thompson and even result in his departure.
If Golden State’s hopes and wishes for the Good Draymond could be weighed, they would be the ton.
“He’s excited for the season,” Kerr said last week. “I thought he had a good year last year when he was on the floor. But obviously we missed him during the suspension(s), and so we have to do everything we can to help Draymond have another good year but make sure this team is on the right track for all 82 games.”
Draymond’s list of sins as defined by the Golden State bible is a marathon by measure, long enough to exhaust the souls of those with a deep and abiding tolerance. This season will likely be his last, best chance for redemption.
He wants another ring. This drives him. Imagine what that would do if he put together another terrific season and the Warriors made another trip to the NBA Finals. It’s a long shot, sure, but isn’t that the only goal worth chasing?
Such an achievement, at this stage, may be the most gratifying of Draymond’s career. He will have given his best self to the franchise that stood by him and the superstar that remained in his corner.
