Draymond Green will do anything to help the Warriors win, but the Golden State veteran is tired.
After logging countless minutes as the Warriors center in their small-ball starting lineup during the 2024-25 NBA season, Green was grateful to hear his coach Steve Kerr say he’s uncomfortable doing the same next campaign.
“As far as what Steve said, God bless his heart,” Green said in response to Kerr’s comments on the latest “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis” episode. “It was real because playing the 5, it’s hard. And I’m always down to do it, as you know, like any challenge you throw my way, I’ll take on the challenge, but it’s hard battling every night guys who outweigh me by 60 to 80 pounds, and they’re four inches or five inches, seven inches taller than me. It does take a toll.”
Green, 35 and fresh off his 13th NBA season, was responding to Kerr saying in his end-of-season press conference that he doesn’t want the power forward starting at center in 2025-26.
“I don’t want to start next season with Draymond as our starting 5,” Kerr said Friday. “I think it’s doable for the last 30 games like we did this year, but you see the toll it takes on him. He’s talked about it too.”
The Warriors will seek other options this offseason, and Green couldn’t be more grateful for Kerr’s part in the decision. Even though Green earned All-Defensive First Team honors in the role and was a finalist for NBA Defensive Player of the Year this season, he believes Golden State can upgrade at the position while providing him with a deserved reprieve.
“… I’m saying, I don’t think people understand the toll of and what anchoring the defense requires; that means every possession I have to put myself in a position to stop a fire, to help stop something,” Green continued. “It takes a lot. But I always say I’m cut out for whenever our organization needs to go to it, I’m right here. Let’s do it. I ain’t never going to complain about it.
“But I agree with Steve — if we can have a different starting center, and at some point if we need to go to [me starting], cool, but it’s a lot, and as I get older and older in this league, it becomes tougher and tougher. These guys get younger, more athletic, and like I said, I think I’m more than capable of hanging with the young guys and athleticism. But it does take its toll.”
Like Green, Dub Nation and NBA analysts alike have called for the Warriors to get bigger. Now that Golden State appears poised to do so, Green’s physical well-being should benefit — and that could mean the world for his game.
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