The Golden State Warriors need Draymond Green to Unite their Aspirations

The man, the myth, the legend: Draymond Green.

He has a history of being a loud mouth, NBA’s biggest trash talker & the guy behind the infamous: “they don’t love you like that, you thought you was Kobe?”

Along with a unique skill to disarm his opponent with verbal abuse, he will sometimes use fists. Ask Rudy Gobert, Domantas Sabonis, Jusuf Nurkic, Steven Adams, the list is never ending. Not even his teammates are safe, as Jordan Poole was the subject of a punch that TMZ distributed like a food factory. In 2023 alone, Draymond Green has been suspended 4 times. This season, in barely 2 months of NBA basketball, he’s already seen 3 ejections. The last one came after Jusuf Nurkic got slapped across the face, and since then, Draymond Green has missed 12 games due to suspension.

On Sunday, he was finally allowed to participate at the team’s walk through & sit on the bench for team facilities.

“I told him (Adam Silver) it was too much for me, it’s all becoming too much for me - and I’m going to retire” - Draymond Green said on the Draymond Green Show. He went on to mention how Adam Silver talked him out of retiring and return to the NBA court. Beyond the many jokes you can make from that quote, there were moments of introspection from Green that reflect why he may have wanted to retire.

Starting with being unselfish - “Stephen A. was like, ‘(Steph Curry) is a bad leader because Draymond Green did X.’ It pissed me off but it crushed me, (Steph) does everything the right way and he gets torn down because of my actions?”

Here is a guy with a history of questionable on court conduct showing a moment of vulnerability, extending his empathy beyond himself to his friend & colleague. Could this be the start of a change within Draymond?

In the 12 games without Green, the Golden State Warriors won 7 of them. They're currently 11th in the Western Conference with 17 wins and 19 losses, 2 games away from .500. Klay Thompson recently had to admit to the press about his frustration with accepting where his body is now, compared to years prior. He's not the 3 point assassin he used to be and Steph Curry can't carry this team on his own in a league where the young, hungry guns are faster than he is. Jonathan Kuminga is their future but his growing frustrations with the coaching staff are leading to a hostile locker room. The Golden State Warriors need a rational leader in Draymond Green, he must be the voice that unites their aspirations.

Here's to hoping a 12-game suspension was the rock bottom of this team. Only way is up the Bay.