For the first time since Steve Kerr took over as the team’s head coach in 2014, the Golden State Warriors fell short in a Western Conference playoff series. Thanks to a 122-101 drubbing at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dubs’ title defense came officially came to an end on Friday.
Now, the attention in the Bay Area hoops universe turns to the myriad questions facing the Warriors this offseason. Chief among them is what the future holds for mainstay Draymond Green, whose tenure has seemingly been on shaky ground since his training-camp altercation with teammate Jordan Poole.
Despite that, Golden State’s early playoff exit and the fact that he has a player option on his contract for next season, Green’s comments during his postgame presser seemed to indicate he would be back for another go-round in 2023-24.
“We’re not done yet,” Green told reporters in the wake of the Warriors’ ouster. “We lost this year. We’ll be back next year.”
Warriors’ Draymond Green Gives Clues About His Thought Process on Returning to the Team
Pressed for more information on his future plans — specifically, he was asked whether he thought the clock was ticking on the Warriors’ dynastic core — Green made no bones about the fact players’ careers are far closer to their ends now than their beginnings.
“I think the clock is ticking on all of our lives,” Green joked. “Like, everyone in here. We all have an expiration date. … As far as basketball goes, 100% it’s ticking. And that’s on every man in this league, every woman that works. That’s everybody. So, yeah, the clock is ticking.”
That said, Green made a point to reaffirm his desire to be a part of the Warriors franchise moving forward.
“As I’ve told you guys for years, I want to be a Warrior for the rest of my life,” Green declared. “I want to ride out with the same dudes I rode in with.”
He feels that way, too, despite the turmoil that occurred throughout the campaign, espousing his belief that there were positives to be gleaned in spite of the struggles and the eventual result.
“We put the work in to make it happen. Here we are, our worst season as a whole since 2014 and yet, we had a chance to make another run. So, it’s never as bad as it seems, it’s never as good as it seems.”
Green Had a Strong Campaign for the Warriors
Despite his advancing years — he turned 33 in March — and the more than 27,000 minutes he has logged across his career (regular season and playoffs), Green played well for the Warriors in 2022-23. Perhaps just as importantly, he kept himself available, too.
In 73 regular-season appearances for the Dubs this season, Green averaged 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while connecting on a career-best 52.7% of his field-goal attempts. Meanwhile, his net rating of 7.0 was the No. 1 mark teamwide among players logging 120-plus minutes for the team.
Also: Green was recognized with an NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection earlier this week.
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Draymond Green Hints at Future With Warriors Following Team’s Elimination