Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green reflected on his clash with head coach Steve Kerr, which led to him leaving the bench mid-game. Green says separating himself from Kerr is growth for a mercurial veteran with an extensive record of crossing the line with opposing players and teammates alike. He also walked away from his teammates in the heat of battle before returning to the bench in street clothes.
Still, Green doubled down on his resolve to remove himself from the conflict. Perhaps years ago, he would have escalated the situation. Instead, Green walked away, he said, per The Draymond Green Show.
“I think the best thing to do for human beings is to remove yourself from the heated situation. Because things are said that shouldn’t be said,” Green said. “Things are done that shouldn’t be done. And you can’t come back from those things. So, as someone who's been in a bunch of these situations, I'm ecstatic with my growth to say, you know what? This ain't right. This ain't going right. It's not about to turn right. It's only going to go further left.
“Let me remove myself for the sake of the team. But also more importantly for myself. So I don't say anything that I can't come back from. So I don't do anything that I can't come back from. It's heated right now. Let me excuse myself and get myself out of here.”
For Green, he did what was best for him and his team.
“And contrary to popular talking heads, it was the right thing to do,” Green added. “And everybody who was a part of that moment, coaching staff, players, organizationally, thinks it was the right thing to do. So, for all you talking heads out there that say, ‘Oh man, he stormed off.’ Be careful who y'all listening to because storm off is storming off, yelling and talking. I walked off and walked politely to the locker room.”
Draymond Green's revelation from Warriors' Steve Kerr clash
While Warriors head coach Steve Kerr apologized for clashing with Draymond Green, telling reporters it wasn't his finest hour, the Warriors veteran believes he avoided what would have been an uglier situation.
Green harped on the notion that he'd avoided saying something to Kerr that he knew he'd regret.
“I didn’t want the one thing to become two,” Green said. “So, remove myself, and I thought that was the best thing to do instead of saying things you can’t come back from tomorrow.
“That was a huge moment of growth for me.”
The Warriors are facing the Nets on Monday.
