Getty Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green reacts to a call during a bout with the Miami Heat.
For a player who went through what he did during training camp, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green finds himself in a surprisingly good spot a quarter of the way through the 2022-23 campaign. The baller has rebuilt trust with his teammates to the point that he’s affecting them as a leader, and people who are around the team have stated that the baller has been a “delightful presence” behind the scenes.
All the while, Green has been showing out on the hardwood. Over the six-game stretch preceding the Dubs’ Friday bout with the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 11.2 points, 7.8 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 71.1% from the field.
Still, given his age, high salary and the lingering questions about whether he and the rest of the organization can truly get back to where they were before he up and punched Jordan Poole during practice, there’s no guarantee on either side that Green will end up retiring as a Warrior.
During a recent interview with Andscape‘s Marc J. Spears, however, Green left the door open for the partnership to continue until the end of his playing career. Of spending his whole career in Golden State, Green commented that he’d “absolutely be interested in that.”
Green Speaks Out on His Run With the Dubs & Its Future
Asked point blank by Spears whether he’d be open to spending his entire career with the Warriors, Green revealed that he has a real appreciation for that kind of longevity before issuing the aforementioned decree.
“It’s incredible when you look at the amount of guys who’ve played for only one team. You can look around the NBA right now,” Green said. “There are five guys that’s been on a team for 11 years-plus. We have three of them [along with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson]. It’s a very rare thing. There’s 470, 480 players in the NBA? There are five guys that’s been with his team for 11 years plus. That’s amazing. So, you don’t just give that away.”
At the same time, though, he acknowledged that there are business factors on both sides of the equation that have to be considered in deciding whether or not to move forward with their partnership.
“If you had the opportunity to, you relish that opportunity. But in saying that, I do understand that this is a business. And ultimately, decisions have to be made. I have to make decisions, and you take them as they may. But for me, I’m focused on the season. I’m focused on winning.
“We let those things play out the way they’re going to play out.”
Draymond Addresses the Lakers Rumor
In the immediate aftermath of the Green-Poole incident, there was a significant level of chatter that Draymond could already be looking ahead to his next gig. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went so far as to say that the four-time All-Star wants to be a Laker, a concept that was given legitimacy when Green later took a mid-game detour to conference with LeBron James near the Lakers bench.
During his interview with Spears, though, Green denied having ever put anything like that out into the world.
“I never said that,” Green declared. “People can say what they want. I’m also not really one to react much to what one may say. I react to things when I want to react to it. I don’t react to things just because somebody said it.”