"He's a necessary evil" - Dan Patrick on Draymond Green's importance & future in Golden State Warriors
Every hero needs a good villain. For many basketball fans, this villain is Draymond Green.
The spunky four-time All-Star makes headlines more often for his antics than basketball play, although he remains a key part of the Golden State Warriors' on-court production. According to Dan Patrick, these antics are a part of what makes Draymond who he is. While discussing the latest altercation on The Dan Patrick Show, Patrick said:
"They know what they have. He [Draymond Green] is a necessary evil. He's the kind of player where you go, 'Do I want him on my team?' Yeah. 'Do I want to play against him?' No. Now I don't want him on my team, certainly now at this age. But when he was 28, 27, 26 he was a very, very valuable player for this team.
"And here they are, defending champs. But when you start the season punching a teammate and now here we are, like at some point you have to say, 'You're your own worst enemy.' But who's helping him here? Who's grabbing him saying, 'Hey, Draymond! you're not irreplaceable anymore.'"
"Who's helping him here? Who's grabbing him saying hey Draymond you're not irreplaceable anymore."
-DP reacts to Draymond's suspension #Warriors https://t.co/uZEPhVKmLQ
Draymond Green's future
Patrick went on to look at the future of Draymond Green as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The 33-year-old has spent all 11 years of his career with the Warriors but will likely be in search of a major payday this offseason. With his antics continuing and the level of play beginning to drop, this is not as easy of a decision as it once was.
Patrick also placed some blame on Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and the rest of the Warriors' core for allowing these actions to carry on. He admitted that Green is a repeat offender for these types of altercations, which played a role in the decision to hand him a one-game suspension.
In the short term, the Warriors will look to battle back from the 2-0 hole they sit in against the Sacramento Kings. While Draymond Green may have stolen the spotlight, the real story should be that the Kings have looked to be the better team against the defending champions.
The series will head back to Golden State, where the Warriors went 33-8 this season. They will need to win both games to climb back and give themselves a chance to advance. Only 7.2% of NBA teams have been able to come back from being down 0-2 and win the series, and this Warriors team has never done it.
There will surely be more plotlines to the Draymond Green story as the series moves on. But for the time being, it is best for all parties to focus purely on basketball.