In an exclusive one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Marc Stein, Draymond Green addressed the forefront storyline that will surround the Warriors next season: being the team everybody loves to hate.
“I can’t say that I haven’t been a villain once or twice in my career anyway — so, looking forward to it,” Green said with a smile.
Green entered a new stratosphere of criticism in the 2016 postseason. He kicked Steven Adams twice in nether regions and retaliated against LeBron James in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, after the Cavalier stepped over him. The latter incident resulted in a Flagrant-1 and a subsequent suspension in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Green blamed the Warriors’ collapse on himself and so did many others around the league.
If there’s any player who has experience in taking heat on and off the court, it’s Green. He’ll get the Warriors acclimated to the unique spotlight.
“Whether people love you or people hate you, at the end of the day you’ve got to get between these lines and play the best game that you can possibly play,” Green said. “That’s going to be our focus.”
Green was in attendance for Durant’s press conference on Thursday, a sign of respect for his new teammate. Green’s statistics and potential selection for the All-Star team will all take a hit from Durant’s arrival. But Green has made it clear doesn’t care one bit about those accolades.
“It’s surreal to see him joining the squad, you know, joining the family, because that’s the way we look at this. It’s a surreal feeling. I’m excited for him. He’s happy with this decision like he said.”
Bob Myers told KNBR.com that Steve Kerr has made no decisions yet on the starting lineup. It’s unclear whether Zaza Pachulia will start at center or the Warriors will trot their small ball lineup from the get-go. That group of five players — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Durant and Green — would put the 26-year-old Michigan State alum at the center position.
“That’s up to Steve,” Myers said. “There will be discussions about that, I’m sure.”
The always eloquent Kerr had a deft response to the villainy that the Warriors will face. You can tell it’s going to be a part of his coaching messaging next season. Golden State will do it’s best to block out the noise, but they won’t be able to fully ignore it.
“It already started kind of by the end of the year, we could feel it a little bit,” Kerr said of the backlash. “We’ve won at a really high rate, obviously, the last two years. At first we were on our honeymoon period and then we got married I guess. Reality kind of set in. We had that feeling of being the villain, or whatever. Now I’m sure we will be more so. But you want to be one or the other. You want to be either the darling or the villain. When you’re stuck in between and nobody cares, that’s when you’ve got a problem.”
Stay tuned on this storyline. It’s not going away any time soon.