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The Golden State Warriors season is officially over, and one of their stars isn’t too happy about it. Former Defensive Player of the Year and current DPOY finalist Draymond Green spoke at length about how disappointing it is to not be in the NBA playoffs following their loss to the now-8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.
“We’re not in the playoffs, so we’re a ways away,” Green said after the Warriors’ 117-112 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, May 28, 2021, in the final play-in game for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
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Draymond Green Describes His Off-Season Plan
GettyGolden State Warriors forward Draymond Green during the team’s NBA Tournament Play-In game against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 19, 2021.
Coming into the NBA season, Green made it clear that the goal for the team was to make the playoffs. Not doing so would be not only a big disappointment, but also a failure of a season in his mind.
“When I don’t win a title, that’s unsuccessful,” Green said during a December 14, 2020, statement to the media following his first practice of the preseason. “There’s no moral victories. There’s no, ‘Oh, this is our first year together,’ or, ‘We don’t have as many stars or Klay [Thompson].’ I don’t really roll like that.”
Following the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Green elaborated on what his next few weeks would look like and what the next phase for the Warriors looks like.
“I may go to Mexico or something [Saturday], but that’s not a gym,” Green stated to reporters following the game, ESPN reported. “That’s not to an arena. That’s not flying to Utah, so we got a ways to go because we’re not in the playoffs — so we’re far away. Because in order to win a championship, you got to be in the playoffs. So we’re clearly a ways away — a few tweaks here and there, and we’re not that far. But right now we’re a ways away because we’re not in the playoffs.”
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Green Expects To Be Involved In Roster Changes
GettyDraymond Green reacts to a play in a game against the Utah Jazz.
With their season ending in the manner it did, there are a lot of questions moving forward for this Warriors team. Since all-star guard Klay Thompson and #2 overall pick James Wiseman will both return healthy, could this be the end of the road for a couple of swingmen on their roster?
Will the team add more veterans? Or will they continue to build with their current younger set of players and just bring back their injured stars? Time will tell but for Green, he expects to be a part of the discussion.
“I expect to be extremely involved. That’s just the way it’s gotta be,” Green said to a group of reporters through video conference via Yahoo Sports.
“I definitely expect to be extremely involved. You have to dive in. Looking back on this year, I think there were a lot of successes that came out of this year, but we did not win a championship. So you have to go back to the drawing board and try to figure it out.”
“There are some things that need to be discussed between myself, Steph, Klay, [the coaching staff], front office,” Green continued. “This has always been a group thing. We’ve always done it all together, and this summer it’s extremely important that we do sit down, go back to the drawing board as one if we’re going back to where it is that we want to go. Those conversations has to be had, and I’m looking forward to having ’em.”
For the Warriors to climb back to the upper echelon of the NBA’s western conference, it may take all of the big 3’s input and more. They’ll certainly need a solid and tough roster to compete with a stacked conference.
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