Draymond forcefully refutes concerns about his Warriors availability originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Members of the Warriors organization and Dub Nation always have to worry about whether forward Draymond Green will be available during any given NBA season.
After all, the four-time NBA champion served two separate suspensions and missed a total of 27 games last season.
Green, for what it’s worth, isn’t worried about everyone’s concern for him, as evidence by a back-and-forth he had with The San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Ostler during Warriors media day on Monday at Chase Center.
Ostler: “You know people worry about you, fans, maybe your teammates.”
Green: “Why do they worry about me? I’m a successful black man in America doing incredibly well. What’s to worry about me?”
Ostler: “They worry about you.”
Green: “There are way more people in this world to worry about than me.”
Ostler: “We’re here now.”
Green: “We’re all here. I don’t think you should worry about me. I’m doing pretty well. If you were to told me when I was 13 years old in Saginaw, Michigan, without a pot to piss in, that you’d be sitting here and somebody would say they’re worried about you, I would have probably told them they were out of their mind, if I’d be sitting here and they’d be worried about me.”
Ostler: “Well, they’re worried for themselves too. They want to know — they know the team needs you.”
Green: “Why are they worried?”
Ostler: Because they know the team needs you.
Green: “They don’t feed their families doing this. I’m here. I’ve been here for 13 years now.”
Ostler: “You’re going to be here every night?”
Green: “Been here pretty much every night for 13 years, very much so. We all have. Look, Kevon Looney played 82 games two years in a row and everybody was celebrating. We all miss games.”
Ostler: “They want to know if you’re going to be here like mentally.”
Green: “I’m always here. And? Suspensions — the guideline of getting suspended is something that’s in place because it’s a possibility.”
Ostler: “Nothing changed with that?”
Green: “I don’t know what would change. I don’t get the question. I think my mindset has helped us do some great things. That’s pretty cool.
“It’s all about how you spin it. I love how you try and spin it, but it ain’t my spin to it, player. It’s good.”
The Warriors will need Green on the court as much as possible during the upcoming 2024-25 season as they look to return to the NBA playoffs.
With an aging roster and young players who haven’t quite established themselves, the Warriors will lean heavily on Green and two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry.
If Green can’t stay on the court, the Warriors might have a big reason to worry.
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