Stephen A. Smith sounds off on Draymond Green for Steve Kerr hindrance comments
Stephen A. Smith sounds off on Draymond Green for Steve Kerr hindrance comments originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
What to Know
-
After Draymond Green said Warriors coach Steve Kerr “hindered” his offensive game, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith wasn’t having any of it.
-
“He had ample opportunity to have better numbers offensively,” Smith said on “First Take.”
-
“Here’s why I say it’s foul,” Smith said. “Respectfully to Draymond Green, you are not accepting responsibility for what you didn’t do.”
It’s hard for Draymond Green to surprise us with his off-the-wall comments on his podcast, but no one saw these comments coming.
Green claimed that Warriors coach Steve Kerr “hindered” his offensive game over the years, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith wasn’t having any of it.
“He had ample opportunity to have better numbers offensively,” Smith proclaimed on “First Take.” “If he simply could make open shots from the perimeter, and he didn’t do it repeatedly. That’s not the coach. That’s you.”
Green has shot 32.1 percent from 3-point range in his career with the Warriors , but that didn’t stop him from finding a reason why he wasn’t as effective offensively over the years.
“As much as he’s done for me in basketball, a part of me thinks he’s hindered me in my career and what I could have become,” Green said on “ The Draymond Green Podcast “. “But what he’s also helped me become. You have to take the good with the bad, man.
Having won four championships with the organization, the 36-year-old has played some elite talent during his tenure. Stephen A. Smith continued to share his thoughts on Green’s comments.
“Here’s why I say it’s foul,” Smith continued. “Respectfully to Draymond Green, you are not accepting responsibility for what you didn’t do.”
The Michigan State alum was unable to knock down open jump shots at a consistent rate, but that’s not the focus of Green’s comments. Green feels there weren’t enough plays designed for him, after Kevin Durant joined the squad.
“You know, when [Durant] came from 2016 on, I have not had a play in our playbook,” Green stated. “Not a single play that we run for me in our playbook since 2016. You think that would hinder someone as an offensive player? Of course. So at times, I go home, and I think about my career, and I’m happy as hell with what I’ve been able to build. But at times, sometimes I sit there and think, ‘What could I really have been if I stayed true to my game and what I really was?’ ”
Staying true to his game wasn’t the vision Kerr had in mind for his superteam over the past decade. With the amount of star power Golden State had offensively, Green had a distinct role to make Steph Curry shine and be the anchor on defense.
“We also need to understand that Steph Curry would’ve had a far more difficult time being Steph Curry if it were not for Draymond Green,” Smith said. “But there has never been any evidence that he worked to improve his jump shot.”
Smith came after Green’s ability to put the ball in the basket, but it’s clear that Draymond was a main pillar in this team’s success, regardless of the way he was shooting over the past decade.
