Details on Steve Kerr Suspension.
For Steve Kerr, this is hardly his first rodeo.
Kerr has spent ten years coaching Draymond Green, and during that time he has witnessed all of the ups and downs the Warriors forward has experienced, including his extracurricular activities and on-court theatrics. Kerr explained why this time—Green’s most recent 12-game sentence for hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face last month—is different from the previous times, when fans had to endure numerous regrets and justifications.
“I believe Draymond is aware that his career is in jeopardy. Kerr remarked on Tuesday’s episode of 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” that it truly is. “I believe he understands that this time is different in light of everything that has transpired, including the recent suspension and the events of the past year. It wasn’t a ban for receiving excessive technical errors. This was not a one-time flagrant foul suspension. This was not like that.
“He was truly put on notice by this. He’s given himself a warning. That’s what distinguishes this. For this reason, his response must be precisely what it must be.”
One day after the incident with Nurkić on December 13, Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA. The league hoped that Green would take the time to focus on himself and clear his head before going back to the court, which is why they decided not to attach a number to the punishment.
For the first time since his departure from “The Draymond Green Show,” Green disclosed in public that he and Kerr had a tearful conversation during his coach’s visit, adding that the two sobbed together in his backyard. Kerr provided further information about their in-depth conversation, but he declined to reveal what the two discussed.
“I went to his house in [Los Angeles] the day he was suspended,” recalled Kerr. “That evening, we were taking on the Clippers. I went there, and we talked in his backyard for two hours, going from heart to heart. After doing this for ten years, we have a really tight relationship; I won’t really go into what we talked about. We share a really close bond.At that moment, the only thing left to do was for him to get it right. The most crucial thing is for him to get his emotions and thoughts in order. We also decided that, whatever that meant, he had to take care of himself and manage things independently and at his own pace. For this reason, the suspension had an ambiguous duration, as stipulated by the league.”
Although the NBA community originally took offense at Kerr’s “you do you and I’ll do me” remarks, the coach later stressed that there was no malice intended and that it was exactly what both parties had agreed upon.
“The agreement was I’ll give you your space and you do what you have to do and we’ll stay in touch,” said Kerr. “You return when you are prepared to do so. And that was the situation. And while we didn’t text each other every day, we did chat and text a few times while we were suspended. He was busy taking care of himself, while I was busy trying to win games.
“There was nothing mysterious at all when I mentioned that we were giving him our space and he was giving us ours. Really, it was just sincere.”
After receiving his NBA reinstatement on Saturday, Green made his way back to Warriors practice on Tuesday and made his first public appearance since his suspension. In a week or two, he’ll probably return to the court with the squad.
