Draymond Green Comments on Suspension, Return to Warriors | Jan. 9, 2024

Draymond Green Comments on Suspension, Return to Warriors | Jan. 9, 2024

Hi Draymond welcome back thank you I appreciate it how y’all doing what’s up car hey when your teammates and coaches talked about your suspension most of them were talking about how they wanted to see you get right as a person worry about the player later all of them are

Really invested in and making sure you connected to whatever help you needed how would you describe the type of help you’ve accepted to be a better person I think it’s just about number one um knowing what it is you that mean you know I think so many

People throw around the word help but what actually does that mean you know and so I think for me um number one was just sitting down with myself and figuring out what that means uh you know when you’re when you talk therapy and all these things

Um therapy only go as far as you take it um you know when you sit in a therapy session therapists probably talk 10 15% of the time and you talk to other 85 or 90 so then what are you talking about and um I think for me you know and knowing that

And understanding that and then going into the process it’s first important to identify what exactly that is you know and I think so many people can have their thoughts on what that means um but again if if it’s not something that you’re up to if it’s not you know if

It’s not something that you believe um then you’re wasting your time you know I think um one of the best things that happened to me during the process as soon as I got on the phone uh for a first initial he’s like so what’s this about you know I see all

The things in the news um I see all you know everything’s everyone saying how do you feel and what are you thinking um because again if you’re here if you’re here just to satisfy some obligation or satisfy some public opinion you’re wasting my time and yours and and that was the most important

Thing for me that I could hear because that wasn’t why I was there you know and um yet you know one would think so and so uh I think you know it’s that was a very important part of me starting um know what has been the last

Four weeks or so uh for me what’s up Draymond how much basketball were you able to play or not play I guess um I took some time away uh from everything like I don’t think I touched the ball for the first 10 days uh because it was the least important thing

To me I didn’t like you know um I needed a break just from everything and I one of the best things in the world for me was not waking up the next day like all right I gotta go get this workout in I gotta go get a lift in I gotta go do

This it was um it was wonderful waking up like nope I have a eight-month old um I have a three-year-old seveny old a n9y old it was wonderful waking up to them and being home when they wake up and indulging in that process um and so I

Didn’t touch a basketball for the first 10 days and then you know I started like working again uh you know then it felt good to get back in the gym um you know after after I’ve sat with some of my thoughts you know after and I think and

And going back after 10 days it was refreshing to go get a workout in you know it wasn’t but it didn’t feel like a routine you know it didn’t feel like I was jumping right back into the the the revolving door if you will will and and

And just start back spinning I was like nope I’m going to go here today and I’m going to get some shots up I’m going go here today and I just really want to get my body moving and get a sweat it wasn’t some routine or with some goal of

Getting back to the court it was simply just no this is what I feel like I should go do today or this is what I want to go do today and um like I said that was that was therapeutic in itself uh you know you never realize how much how stressful this job

Is until you no longer have that stress and then it’s like whoa and I think for me um you know I was going through this going through my my weeks and I was on one one of my cars with with the league uh with the PA and Rich and uh um Rick and

Mike and then start talking about like all right a return date and my body was like ah like it just immediately tensed up and I was like whoa that was interesting to me you know because it it also further confirmed for me what what I had already been thinking

About the time that I had off um and and just sitting away from everything and like how relaxed I was with everything and and to just hear the word return to play and like tense up immediately it was just kind of a reminder you know of like okay you’re going to start

Discussing the return now that’s great um but you can’t fall right back into the just like the tense place and uh I think that was such a um great moment for me to have because the last thing I would want is to come back and have that

Moment when I’m going on the court you know and so to have that moment um the first time I heard the word return um I thought was also a step for me in the right direction because wow you’re able to process that right away like as opposed to living through it and then

It’s like figuring it out after the fact you know all that being said you you you are returning to you know a 17 and 19 team that pretty clearly need you um how close do you feel uh and you know how urgent does this situation feel from

Just a professional exp it’s it’s urgent from a professional standpoint because I wasn’t hurt you know at least my body wasn’t hurt uh my mind was hurt my feelings was hurt uh but it wasn’t like some injury caused me off the four so it’s very urgent because

I’ve cost my team enough you know I’ve cost this organization enough you know and so um it’s not a time for me to just come back and be like all right I’m going to take my time and get back when I can no like you CA this yourself and

So you don’t get the grace and although I’m very appreciative of our organization um you know number one for the support um but number two like they’re putting the plan together ramp up if it was up to me I would love to come back and play right now reality is

It’s probably not the best thing for me or the best thing from an organizational standpoint and and what that looks like moving forward and and the risk of injury and all those things but you know there’s a human component of this as well and you

Know um you sit home and you watch these games and as a competitor you want to help and so and then returning um it’s funny coach said welcome back in film yesterday and BP start clapping and they start and everybody start clapping I’m like well I’m not sure I deserve a round

Of applause like but I’ll take it but you know it it’s like in in that like half joking but like you don’t you don’t just get Grace and I I’ll take my time and get back when I can like I’m coming back from a suspension not an injury and so

There’s a huge sense of urgency and I pushed it like crazy today and I’m going push it like crazy every day um until I can get back on the floor because number one I think it’s also important for these guys to know and understand that you know I’m I’m not approaching this

Like I’mma just take my time and get back when I can I’m gonna do all that I can to meet the requirements that I have to meet uh with our Performance Group in order to get back on the court and I’m trying to do that as fast as I can

Whatever work that requires that’s what I’m do very much nice to see you it’s good to see you as well um have you do you believe you’ve acquired some skills with the work you’ve been doing to handle yourself when emotions run Skyhigh and it’s a tense moment on the

Court so that you don’t cross a line or whatever the referees think is crossing a line whatever it is H how do you control those emotions the next time and are you finding some some ways and some techniques to to do so I think number one is about um first off understanding

Your emotions um understanding those moments uh my goal is not to come back back and worry about crossing the line um because I still have to come back and play the game the way I know how to play the game and be the best me that I can

Be for my team to to help give my team a chance to win um I think you know as far as not crossing the line with with a referee yes uh that’s that’s that’s a big point of emphasis for me um in in knowing and understanding um where that

Line is but I didn’t make it to this point worried about touching the line you know um you know I didn’t help this team and this organization become what we’ve become by worried about crossing the line and so you know um throughout my time away you kind of go through all

Like work through all these thoughts right and you know if you would have talked to me two and a half weeks ago I’m like I’m not Crossing line I’m not doing this I’m not doing that and and you know but as you continue to to do

Work and put the work in and as time go by for me it’s about developing a practice uh you know developing a routine um and I think one of the best things about that is it hasn’t been just on me to develop that you know I’ve had uh support from this organization support

From the league and developing with those things things look like and um that’s that’s what I plan to do I’m not I’m not going to sit here and tell you like yes I know everything because you don’t know what you do until you’re in a moment you know um but I think

Going into your into anything you can only best prepare yourself for what moments you may face and then you’ll be put to the test and I’m not you know my goal isn’t to try to say oh man I’m I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that and this

Is how it’s going to look like you don’t know that until I’ll be sitting here lying to you uh if I said this is how it’s going to look and this is the process like that’s not real um but what is real is do preparing yourself and

Doing a lot of self-work so that when you are in these moments you know where you can turn to you know it’s it’s just like anything else if I catch the ball on the wing in that moment prepared myself to shoot that ball right it’s no different you do

The work um and then when those moments present themselves you lean on your preparation what’s up J what up um you said in the past and even in recent weeks that like a certain mindset has gotten you to this point um since you were 15 and sagona has gotten you from

When you were in the second round pick um what’s the journey been like knowing that that’s been your mindset and then finding out that that’s not sustainable at this point in your life and then trying to figure out another way in real time I don’t think it’s not sustainable

Um you know you don’t make it to this point if it wasn’t sustainable um but like let’s face it like Antics Antics isn’t something that got me here and so when I look back on these situations it’s like can you remove the Antics I’m very confident I can remove the Antics

And I’m very confident if I do remove the Antics no one’s worried about how I play the game of basketball you know nobody’s worried about um how I carry myself in the game of basketball but it’s the Antics and um so that’s my focus you know it’s not on

Changing who I am completely like you don’t change the spots on a lepers like it’s just not going to happen and I’m not going to try to set some unrealistic expectation of like who’s this person going to be like it’s not real and that’s not sustainable um I’ve always

Said before I could I know how to be me a lot better than I can be anyone else but in saying that can I accept the fact that my my Antics has been over the top of course can I remove those am I capable of removing those of course

And I think with without that then I don’t think there is much of an issue but it’s the Antics that can go and and um I’ve made a commitment to do things to make sure that those don’t creep in speaking of those antics you know throughout those times the front office

Steve cerr they’ve all stuck by you right publicly you know and even in privately step as well um what in a way that maybe other organizations maybe haven’t stood by other players what do you think that that says about your relationship with this team in this front office in this organization I

Think number one um you know as I said before in my podcast like they know me you know they know me the person not just the basketball player and uh their support is not something that I take for granted you know and I think um I’ve had my my shortcomings and my

Failures and where I’ve fallen extremely short of of holding my end of the bargain but I am also a firm believer in reciprocity and I think to Steph to them um you know whoever coach front office this organization I give my all to you know

Um as a person as a basketball player um and these personal relationships I think I reciprocate that now I’ve had issues that I can admit haven’t been the best and they’ve had to stick with me through and I’m very appreciative of that um I don’t take that for granted one

Bit um but I can only show that appreciation through my play and through as I continue to move forward and show the growth that I’ve experienced over the last few weeks which is just in the be just the beginning um you know like I said I’m not going to come up here and

Be like oh man it’s been three and a half weeks or like here we go like it’s not real um but you know I think what I know over these three and a half weeks I have grown some and started a pass to further grow and uh and dedicated

Myself to that path and so ultimately you just want the opportunity to show them that um and I think that’s the best way I I I can sit here and say thank you um a million times till I’m blew in the face or in which you know I do thank them but

Ultimately what what shows that appreciation is my growth mve moving forward and that’s what I plan on doing than sorry um I’m trying that we’ve had a couple of these you know press conferences with you either right after an incident or after your time away and you’re always clear of like

When you want to apologize and when you don’t want to apologize so after the league decides hey this is it’s an a definite suspension and it’s not a normal like clear-cut suspension I mean how do you how was it to buy in to that indefinite suspension and the steps that

You did have to take you just talking about you know therapy and and really self-reflection was that an easy thing for you to open yourself up to or did it take some time I think it was a very easy thing for me to open myself up to from a personal standpoint

Um because like I said I needed the time you know I needed um to reather myself to reenter myself to recalibrate um to take a step back it’s hard to see things when you’re just in it you know and you’re like every day you’re in this thing it’s hard to sometimes

See what’s necessary to see and so from that standpoint it was very easy um to accept fortunately and unfortunately I play a team sport and so when you look at what that does to the team that’s a very tough thing to accept because because ultimately you’re letting so many people

Down like it’s by the way it’s not just my teammates like there’s a lot of people jobs riding on the success that we have as players and so most of those people all of those people don’t make the money we make um and so it’s even more dire right and

So I think for me to let all of those people down obviously my teammates like that goes without saying my coaches that but it goes so far beyond that like the reality is if Steve was fired today he’ll be fine like if I was cut today or

Something I’ll be fine but like that’s not the case for all the people that pour into us so that you can then see that product on the floor at 7 pm on given night on Wednesday night oh not this Wednesday but yeah um you know there’s so many people livelihoods

Riding on that and I know I am a key to that success so when you sit back it’s like all right yeah you do need the time but like don’t lose sight of the people you’re screwing along the way you know and uh and so I think you

Know um accepting what the league handed down was easy part uh you know from a personal standpoint but from a team standpoint from an organizational standpoint um I care about people and so just to know the people I’m screwing along the way that that that part sucks

And by the way that feeling didn’t go away like that’s currently still here like um and so the only way that I can be better and make that or make that right is to be better moving forward did you have those thoughts though because I mean just maybe three weeks before this

Suspension you were suspended for five games like do you have was there a similar thought process of like I’m screwing over all these people for that or or was it because the league was like hey we need you really to to have that time to have dedicated reflection uh no

I didn’t quite have those thoughts during the five game suspension and I also don’t think it was because the league was like Hey you need time to reflect because um I think you know it’s it’s not necessarily A Time thing but when it is indefinite you don’t know

What that means either you know and so that could be like who knows what it’s indefinite and so but like I said before I think having the time allows you to process those thoughts and I’m also appreciative to the league for the indefinite suspension you know why

Because it was no goal to return you know it was no all right I’mma work and get through these five games so as soon as the five games is up I’m back like you know a part of the indefinite and returning was being in better space and

So to allow my mind to process what it looks like in getting in a better space I think you’re able to then sit with those thoughts but to like sit for five games I’m targeting the return date there was no target until two days before it was announced to you all

That I’m the band would be lifted there was no target the entire time and I think when there is no Target like that it allowed me to process all these things it allowed me to not have the stress and the plan of working towards the return you know um it allowed me to

Come to some realizations that I needed and wanted to come to and so I think that’s more so that for me than anything hey Draymond okay hey Draymond welcome back thank you um your transparency throughout this entire process has been unprecedented we’ve not really seen this

From any athlete and in all the things that you’ve said you could look at your message and say it could be to the youth in zageno it could be to your son one day it could be to the fans it could be to your team when you look at the way

That you’ve allowed us to get the peak behind the curtain as you’ve mentioned what’s inspiring that what relationships are you thinking about when you allow us into this process for you Um I think several uh number one is my family my friends those close to me um you know you going through this like you realize how many people is affected like just through the whole process you know and so I think that’s a big deal

Um I do have I have children you know and you want to make sure they see the right thing and because parenting is a a all built and based on trial and error um some mixture of what my parents showed me that I thought was great and

What I didn’t necessarily think was so great I’m G to try to do this right like it’s no guide it’s no handbook to I mean maybe there are some handbooks out there but I ain’t never read one um because even if it taught me something about my nine-year-old my three-year-old is totally different

So in understanding that there’s no guy there’s no him book I I also understand that they’ve been um May or yeah I mean they’ve been put in a position to have to deal with some things as well and so if you put someone in a position to have to deal with

Things and it’s not just my kids but as as far as my kids do go if you’ve let them see you f up then you got to let them see you make it right you got to let them see your growth you got to let them see you take ownership

Um can’t just run and hide and although throughout my time I wanted to run and hide um as I told you I considered retiring like that’s running and hiding um regardless of what drive those feelings that would be in that situation running and hiding because guess what you’re not really leaving on your

Terms uh you’re running from something and so I think uh and then you know you start talking about youth then um not youth you know adults like adults struggle with accountability I know I do sometimes maybe y’all don’t but I definitely struggle with accountability sometimes and

Um I’ve never been a meat guy like it’s not all about me and so in a situation like this can I help someone else grow if I help one person person grow incredible like great uh because that leads us all to a better place if I can help one person

Grow from my shortcomings from my failures um you want people to love when you’re doing something great right like you want people to go crazy when you’re doing something great and you want to feel that love well like don’t run from it when it ain’t so great you know don’t

And so I think um my goal is that a lot of people can learn from it and yet my goal is most importantly is to grow and I think if I can show growth in the position like there’s a responsibility that comes with the positions that we’re in and you know

I’ve always been one to say like Ah that’s your business like ain’t really my business but the reality is is like there is a responsibility and to whom much and given much is required and so I think allow in the world to see that there’s growth out there for everyone

And your growth may not be the growth that I need uh but it’s all relative and so and and and sliding the curtain back and let everybody take a peak I let everybody take a peak when it wasn’t right um it’s on full display in front of the world

So don’t try to hide now like there there’s a stage for you to allow people to see growth and because I’m so dedicated to Growing I don’t mind you taking a peek because I know ultimately what I want the result to be an end and I’ll probably mess up along the

Way and that’s all the part of growing like it’s no lender your path to Growing if you find a straight line to anything come H at me as fast as it tear back down it it’s just that’s just not the reality and so um I’ve always been

Quite of an open book why start running and high now Draymond hey Draymond um you said I’ve cost uh my team enough do you you you’ve played with Steph your whole career um one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen how concerned are

You that you may have cost him some of you know these moments of his prime um I don’t necessarily looking at I don’t necessarily look at it as costing him some moments of his prime uh because we’re all in this together right like one of us fell we’re

All failing uh it’s a team sport I think for me personally I care more about the person like how am I affecting a person I can care less about a prime if I’m honest uh because I don’t see his prime coming to an end no time soon but

Like how are you affecting the person that care about you you know um you know I spoke about the uh the Stephen A incident on my podcast like then that’s something he got to live with you know um for him to carry more weight than he necessarily would have to carry what

Effect does that have on him uh even more so from a basketball standpoint like it matters more to me of how I affect the person now um as far as this team goes like definitely affected this team in a negative way but it’s not

Uh it I mean it can be rep prepared like we’re still what 36 games into the 82 Game season there’s a chance to make it right and that’s my goal and that’s my focus and I think in doing that you know it it helps Steph it helps

All of us um but you know I don’t I don’t necessarily look at it from a daily basis of like a I affected his prime I affected the person and like the person that includes the prime that includes all this thing but to single out one part I actually think

Is selfish of me um to be like I’m affecting him this way no like how are you affecting his mind also like how are you affecting how he show up to work and what that looks like on a daily basis like there’s so much more to this game because we’re actual human beings

Playing this game like and I think that gets lost that gets lost so often of like no like that’s a real person that’s dealing with these things and these things can be heavy and so I I more so worry about how I affected the person you know maybe I’m wrong for

Looking at it that way and not thinking about it from how I affected this Prime but I still worry more about how I’m affecting the overall person and than just one specific thing welcome back sir thank you um just two-part thing first of all to be clear

You do not have a return date as of yet no not not yet but I’m pushing um to make that as soon as possible as soon as I get the go I know our performance staff have put a put a plan together um as soon as I get to go I’ll be ready

To go but like that goal is also Cur CER like you know I don’t I said before you don’t just get to walk back in like when you want walk in like that go is also step you know like that goal is the guys in the locker room like you know I don’t

Like the league was one thing but like it’s so much bigger than that like you owe I owe a lot to these guys and so the goal is also on them you know it’s not just up to me um I don’t I don’t necessarily view it

That way when when when I get to go from our staff our performing staff our coaching staff our guys like that’s all a part of it it’s not just on me and where’s your conditioning level like I think I’m a pretty a pretty good condition but it’s it’s so much more

Than that you know like reintegrating yourself into the team I didn’t I didn’t see these guys the whole time and that was very intentional um but like that’s all the part of it and and lastly um what did you miss the most during your time away and what did

It feel like driving up to the arena walking in coming back to work um what you miss the most is you know I sit and I watch our games um and what you missed the most is just being able to be there for the guys like man it’s

Hard to win NBA games I think we’ve had times where we’ve made it look easy it’s hard like as hell to win an NBA game so when you see guys struggling um you just want to help but in the same breath I wasn’t sitting there like ah I

Need to get back I need I can change this I like that was a whole that was the whole point of like not being here um I didn’t think guys needed to hear my voice like but yet if I see something I’m going to try to help and I just thought

That was wrong like especially with no return date just to be around the guys and like working out and like open-endedly practicing and like I just didn’t think that was right I didn’t think it was right for for um them to even hide an uncertainty you

Know it’s almost like out of sight you out of mind and it don’t quite always happen that way in in our sport because it’s a I mean it’s a win or lose Sport and so when the winds are piling up everybody’s great when you’re losing everything feels like it’s

Falling apart because that’s what that’s what it’s all based off of and so I just didn’t think um that they should be susceptible to to more than I had already kind of made them have to face and seeing me every day was one of those

Things um and so I would just say being with the guys like the camaraderie it’s unfortunate that we haven’t had the season that we’ve all thought we would be having up until this point because it’s a great group of guys that really enjoy being around each other and that hasn’t always been the

Case and so I think I missed that more than anything but I wasn’t just like missing plan because plan wasn’t on my mind like if if plan was on my mind then I think I would have been doing myself a disservice and everyone else around me a

Disservice so that wasn’t really uh my focus my focus was my path uh my growth what I the things that I want to do my family um and making sure that whenever that day came if it did come that I returned to this team that I was in a better space and

Able to provide for them what I need to provide and I think I’m in a great space but just being able to help the guys no problem oh

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green sits down with the media to comment on his suspension.