Earlier this week, we learned that the indefinite suspension Draymond Green was given after striking Phoenix Suns forward Jusuf Nurkic on the head last month would be coming to an end after 12 games. Yet, now that Green can return to the court, his coach Steve Kerr has demanded that he must remain on his best behavior when interacting with referees.
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During a media session on Tuesday, Kerr was asked whether he'll be expecting Green to tone down his on-court antics with referees upon returning.
"It's a big part of it," Kerr said. "We've talked about it... Can he walk that line? Can he still play with fire and energy, but leave the officials alone? That's the challenge. It is going to be a big challenge. But we're gonna ask him to do that."
Steve Kerr said the Warriors are asking Draymond Green to leave referees alone upon his return.
“His teammates need that so we can focus on all the details that are eluding us right now.” pic.twitter.com/vMo31zYoLw
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 9, 2024
Kerr then stressed the importance of Green doing so for their team's sake.
"We need that, so we can focus on the game. His teammates need that so that we can focus on all of the little details that are eluding us right now. It's keeping us from being a consistent team. So that is what we are asking of him."
Kerr's request makes sense, considering that Green's penchant for emotional outbursts toward referees not only costs the Warriors points (in the form of technical free throws) and halts any momentum the team has going for them, but also because other Warriors players — namely, Steph Curry — spend much of their pre and postgame media obligations discussing Green's antics.
Considering that the Warriors — who are 17-19 on the season, have lost five of their last seven games, and are currently the #12 seed in the Western Conference — are still trying to maximize Curry's prime, anything that takes away from their pursuit of winning is unnecessary noise; especially because Green has proven time and time again that, when his mind is right, he's a major difference maker for the Warriors, on both ends of the floor.
The Warriors' next game is Wednesday evening, when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans at the Chase Center at 8:30 p.m EST — which will be broadcast nationally on ABC. While it doesn't appear that Green will play tonight, as he still needs to get back in playing shape, we can probably expect him to return sometime within the next week.
When he does, it will be fascinating to see whether he can adhere to Kerr's referee request.
