Draymond Green has returned to Golden State Warriors practices, ramping up toward a return to play in about a week. “He’s one of our leaders and he’s happy to be back. So it’s a good vibe,” was how Steve Kerr put it (via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
Those good vibes almost didn’t happen because Green almost retired and walked away from the NBA, he said on the latest edition of his “The Draymond Green Show” podcast, which will drop soon but was shared with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Monday (and later released in a video clip).
“I told him ‘I’m going to retire’”
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) January 8, 2024
—@Money23Green opens up about his conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after the Jusuf Nurkić incident pic.twitter.com/kgJrnJzBS7
“I told him, ‘Adam this is too much for me. ... This is too much. It’s all becoming too much for me -- and I’m going to retire.’ And Adam said, ‘You’re making a very rash decision and I won’t let you do that.’
“We had a long, great conversation -- very helpful to me. Very thankful to play in a league with a commissioner like Adam who’s more about helping you than hurting you; helping you than punishing you. He’s more about the players.”
Was Green really ready to step away from the game that is central to his life and the $77.7 million he is owed over the next three years after this season? Green says he was. And Silver is undoubtedly a calming, steady influence as a commissioner.
Kerr and the Warriors need Green back, as their play in a loss to the Raptors on Sunday — where Toronto targeted Stephen Curry on defense — showed clearly. The Warriors have gone 7-6 since Green was suspended (including Sunday, when Green was re-instated and around the team but not yet playing). In that stretch the Warriors have a top-10 offense in the league but Green’s absence has been missed on defense, where the Warriors are bottom five in the league (26th). They also miss his secondary passing and shot creation on offense, especially in games where Andrew Wiggin’s season-long slump continues to hurt them (he scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting against the Raptors).
The Warriors upcoming games are hosting the Pelicans on Wednesday and then traveling to Chicago on Friday. No exact return date for Green has been announced.
