SAN FRANCISCO -- Draymond Green specializes in responding to doubters and hushing them into belief. These tactics made him crucial to the turnaround of a once-forlorn Warriors franchise. He grabbed the chip on his shoulder as a rookie and spun it into gold.
It’s one thing, however, to rise from the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft and build a career worthy of Hall of Fame consideration, quite another to address the fury that has made him as infamous as he is famous.
That’s where Draymond will be this season. With something to prove. Except this time, it’s much less about basketball than impulse management. That’s something he has yet to conquer, perhaps because he has not had to have it.
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He does now, which should -- should -- beget a new quest.
“I’m going to prove a lot of people wrong this year,” Green said. “I’ve been proving people wrong my whole life, so there’s some added motivation. Not quite proving people wrong because the same people that are talking now are the same people who have been talking forever, and they’ve been wrong the entire time. They just give new hot takes about how, ‘You can’t do it this time,’ but never acknowledge the million times that they said (I) couldn’t do it and were wrong. I’m not quite motivated by those people.
“But there are definitely some motivations that have been sparked by some people. And I’m going to use that. And I’m going to do exactly what I do when I’m motivated. In a major way.”
Such a statement has to go beyond court performance. It now has to include conduct on the court, at practice, in the locker room, on the team plane and at team dinners. Will there be fewer beefs with referees and more avoidable technical fouls? Can Draymond be Draymond and also be poised?
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Draymond reiterated that he has two years remaining on his contract, but his mind is on the upcoming season. He can opt-out, if he desires, in July. Concentrating on this season is the right call. The Warriors are not the only team with eyes on him; so are those teams that might reach out should he become available.
By now most reasonable fans, pundits and observers have concluded that Draymond is a uniquely wonderful player. Nearly everybody still wonders if he can keep his composure. The wondering -- skepticism? -- is widespread, and it now includes his coaches and teammates.
That’s what Draymond now -- after delivering a howling right-hand punch to the face of young teammate Jordan Poole -- has to prove.
“There’s work,” coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday night. “We take great pride in what we’ve built here. The continuity. The culture. There is no way around it, that culture has been damaged by this incident. So, you have to work to repair that. You have to find that vibe again every day.
“The beauty of this game, and what our team has been about, is finding that joy in the game but also within the team and the relationships, with the goal, with the collective in mind. When it’s right, like it was last year, like it’s been many times, you can feel it. When it’s wrong ... you can see that and feel that.”
It’s too soon to know if this team’s vibe is right or wrong. It is, for now, complicated. After this spasm of violence, coaches and players can only hope their esprit de corps might be shaken but not demolished.
Though Draymond conceded Thursday that “what we do have to do us make sure we’re together” in pursuit of a championship. There might have been trust that the team was tight enough to settle differences without physical conflict, but that’s now broken.
“But I think of so many different things when I hear the word trust that I’m not always certain that is the most fitting word for what people are trying to say,” Green said. “It always sounds good. Everyone has this idea of what that means. But what does that truly mean? I don’t quite know.
“I think it’s making sure our team camaraderie is right. That’s always important.”
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Camaraderie, however, cannot exist without trust, which is not limited to faith in making the right play or draining a clutch free throw. It is, in this instance, about whether Draymond can be trusted to play great basketball while also finding the measure of discipline required to regain respect as a leader.
Any leader who loses control and lashes out at those he or she is leading has to realize some credibility will be lost.
Can it be regained? Absolutely.
“We’re not going to continue to hold on to the past,” Green said. “It doesn’t mean people don’t have feelings toward what happened or the situation. But we do all have goals. Individual goals, team goals. And we understand what needs to be done in order to reach those. That’s our focus.”
Draymond’s value to the Warriors has never been best measured by individual statistics. The most accurate barometer is always the team’s results. He will be measured by that, still, but his conduct as a leader is now under greater scrutiny.
This season is different from the first 10 of Draymond’s career. He has proved folks wrong. His basketball credentials are established. It's his ability for self-control that remains in doubt.