The number of Draymond Green’s unsportsmanlike displays has continued to increase, which has gradually taken people’s focus off his unique on-court abilities. The four-time NBA champion and Warriors’ power forward has just been handed another suspension, after his incident with Suns’ center Jusuf Nurkic.
While the news appears unfortunate for the Golden State Warriors, a former NBA player and a ring winner has urged and advocated for the departure of a Warriors’ superstar, owing to the current unreliable nature of Warriors teammate Green.
Analyst accuses Draymond Green of being “not reliable”
Former NBA star and a one-time NBA champion in 2008 Kendrick Perkins, given the current on and off-court challenges faced by the Warriors, stated that it could be the team’s best decision to let Stephen Curry leave, so as not to squander his “valuable time.”
Kendrick Perkins had initially posted his view on X, before being interviewed on “NBA Today,” where he explained the reasons for his point of view.
Perkins, who is one of the best NBA media personalities, tweeted earlier “Free him from all the BS that’s around him.” And further disclosed while on the “NBA Today” show that under Klay Thompson’s current contract situation, Andrew Wiggin’s subpar performances this season, and importantly, Draymond Green’s unending issues, the franchise, is no longer a good fit for Stephen Curry.
Perkins cited, “You think about the situation with Klay Thompson and the front office and their contract tension…You look at Andrew Wiggins who’s playing this year like he doesn’t give a damn about playing the game of basketball…You’re watching a guy in Draymond Green that is not reliable, that is acting out of character, that is doing the most, that’ll cost you games, embarrassing the franchise, embarrassing the league.”
Perkins added that Stephen Curry doesn’t deserve this behavior from his team. While saying that Steph is focused on giving great basketball and has more magic to give the NBA community, he called on the Warriors front office not to waste Steph’s valuable time while he’s still with them.
Nevertheless, Stephen Curry is averaging an impressive 29.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 21 games, while shooting 42.2% from the 3-point range this season. It is worth noting that Curry, in 2021, extended his contract worth $215 million for four years. Steph still has three years and $167.28 million left in his Warriors’ contract, becoming a free agent in 2026. Sadly, the Warriors have fallen to a poor 10-13 record and are ranked at the 11th position in the Western Conference.
Draymond Green performance this season
Draymond Green’s season has been a rough ride, receiving severe punishments from the league for his unsportsmanlike actions, which has affected his season’s outputs so far.
In the 2023-2024 season, Draymond Green has featured in only 15 games, and averaged 9.7 points (14th in the league), 5.5 rebounds (17th in the league), 5.8 assists (4th in the league), 0.7 blocks, 0.4 steals, and 2.4 turnovers, in 25.1 minutes of playing time per contest on the court.
In comparison of Draymond Green’s 2022-2023 season’s outputs of 8.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists while playing 31.5 minutes, in 73 games, there are indications that Green originally aimed to surpass last season’s results.
Nonetheless, the unceasing acts of aggression from Green on the court have seen him miss a good number of games for the Warriors. After Green’s return from a 5-game ban, for chokeholding Minnesota Timberwolves’ star Rudy Gobert, he most recently received an indefinite suspension from the league for punching Phoenix Suns’ center Jusuf Nurkic on the head. With Kendrick Perkins’ suggestion, it remains to be seen if the Warriors will let Stephen Curry depart, or if Stephen Curry himself would try to inspire a Warriors’ season turnaround.
