Draymond Green announced his return Monday with a lengthy podcast episode. He spoke to the media for the first time since being reinstated from a 12-game suspension Tuesday and spoke for roughly a half hour on his suspension, therapy, timeline to return and approach when he does.
The points of note from Green
Green spoke for quite a while, but did not get specific about too much. The points of note from Green's presser were the following:
- He did not touch a basketball for 10 days after his suspension.
- When discussing his return timeline for the first time with his agent, Rich Paul, and representatives from the NBAPA and the league, Green said he physically tensed up (more info on that below).
- Brandin Podziemski clapped for Green when he got back, and the rest of the team followed. Green said he wasn't sure he deserved that applause, but appreciated it.
- Green he feels the urgency to return quickly because of how much he's let his team down.
- He said he would love to play now, but that's probably not the smartest thing for him or the team.
- Green intends to keep the same fire he plays with, but is putting a priority on limiting his antics, especially in his interactions with referees.
- At no point has Green addressed his physically violent interactions with opponents that caused him to be suspended. He spoke about his "antics" and apologized to Jusuf Nurkic in his podcast, but did not speak specifically to physical incidents with opponents.
What Draymond said
Among the notable things Green said:
"Therapy only go as far as you take it." He echoed the idea that he has not figured things out completely in his suspension, but that reflecting, working on himself and spending time with his family were needed.
On staying away from the court:
"I don't think I touched the ball for the first 10 days because it was the least important thing to me. I needed a break just from everything. One of the best things in the world for me was not waking up the next day like all right, I gotta go get this workout in. I gotta go get a lift and I gotta go do this."
On tensing up at his discussions of his return with his agent, Rich Paul, NFLPA reps and the NBA:
"They started talking about like, alright, return date. My body was like 'Ah!' Like it just immediately tensed up and I was like, 'Whoa, that was interesting to me...
"Just to hear the words 'return to play' and tense up immediately, that was just kind of a reminder, okay, you're going to start discussing the return now. That's great. But you can't fall right back into the tense place. And I think that was such a great moment for me to have. Because the last thing I would want is to come back and have that moment when I'm going on the court.
On the urge to return quickly:
"It's very urgent because I've cost my team enough. I've cost this organization enough. So it's not a time for me to just come back and be like, 'Alright, I'm gonna take my time and get back when I can.' Like no, you caused this yourself and so you don't get the grace."
On not "crossing the line":
"Number one it's about understanding your emotions, understanding those moments. My goal is not to come back and worry about crossing the line. Because I still have to come back and play the game the way I know how to play the game and be the best me that I can be for my team to help give my team a chance to win.
"I think as far as not crossing the line with a referee, yes, that's that's that's a big point of emphasis for me. And knowing and understanding where that line is. But I didn't make it to this point worried about touching the line. I didn't help this team and this organization become what we've become by worried about crossing the line...
I'd be sitting here lying to you if I said this is how it's gonna look and this is the process. Like that's not real. But what it is real is doing it, it's preparing yourself and doing a lot of self work so that when you are in these moments, you know where you can turn to."
Whether the chip on his shoulder he's kept from growing up in Saginaw, and that attitude is 'unsustainable' and the desire to remove "antics" from his game:
"I don't think it's not sustainable. You don't make it to this point if it wasn't sustainable. But like, let's face it, like antics? Antics isn't something that got me here.
"And so when I look back on these situations, it's like, can you remove the antics? I'm very confident I can remove the antics. And I'm very confident if I do remove the antics, no one's worried about how I play the game of basketball. Nobody's worried about how I carry myself in the game of basketball, but it's the antics. And so that's my focus.
"It's not on changing who I am completely. Like you don't change the spots on a leopard. It's just not going to happen. And I'm not going to try to set some unrealistic expectation of like, 'Who's this person going to be?' Like it's not real, and that's not sustainable.
"I've always said I know how to be me a lot better than I can be anyone else. But in saying that, can I accept the fact that my antics has been over the top? Of course. Can I remove those, am I capable of removing those? Of course. I think without that then I don't think there is much of an issue. But it's the antics that can go and and I've made a commitment to do things to make sure that those don't creep in."
How retirement would have been 'running and hiding':
"As I told you, I considered retirement, like that's running and hiding. Regardless of what drove those feeling, that would be, in that situation, running and hiding, because guess what, you're not really leaving on your terms. You're running from something."
What Steve Kerr said
Steve Kerr was far more direct in his comments.
As Green stated on his podcast, Kerr doesn't want any explanations or excuses. "No more buts," when he apologizes for something.
He said it falls on a "basic standard," to apologize without caveats and grow.
"There has to be a sense that there can't be an explanation that follows the apology," Kerr said. "Then it's not an apology. So what I'm looking for, what the team's looking for, what I think Draymond knows, is expected is no more buts. An apology needs to be an apology and then you move on. But then you have to learn from that apology. That's just kind of basic standard behavior and that's what we need."
Kerr spoke to how highly he values the passion that Green plays with, recognizing that it's part of what makes him a special player.
At the same time, he pointed to the leadership qualities and dispositions of Stephen Curry and Tim Duncan, who he credited for humility. He said he wants Green to continue to be himself, but have humility.
"I don't expect Draymond to all of a sudden behave like Steph Curry or Tim Duncan," Kerr said. "I want him to behave like himself. But there needs to be some humility in the wake of everything that's happened. That goes along with that bravado. We still need the bravado. We still need the emotion.
"But we need the humility that comes when you know you're wrong, when you've made serious mistakes, when you've put your team at peril, when you've potentially harmed other people, opponents, teammates. That balance is the key to all of this and Draymond knows that. He and I have had that discussion. He's been away for a while he's had a lot of time to reflect. I think that's what we're all looking for."
You'll notice Kerr mentioned the harm to "other people, opponents, teammates," that Green did not discuss.
The last notable part that Kerr discussed is his interactions with officials, and all the "in-game stuff" that has often cost him in his career.
"Can he walk that line? Can he still play with fire and energy, but leave the officials alone? That's the challenge," Kerr said. "It's going to be a big challenge, but we're going to ask him to do that. And we need that so that we can focus on the game. His teammates need that."