"Create that tension within the locker room": Kobe Bryant once rightly predicted Draymond Green's role with Warriors
Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers handed Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors a stunning upset in Bryant’s last game against the defending champs.
The Dubs were piling up the wins in their record 73-9 season but lost at Staples Center to a struggling Lakers side.
After the game, “KB24” had this to say about Green’s role for Golden State if they were to sustain their success:
“With Draymond, he’s the one I think that has to keep his finger on the nerve with this team ‘cause it can’t get lax, it can’t get comfortable. I think he’s the one that’s gonna have to create that conflict and you create that tension ‘cause if they don’t have that, man, in the playoffs they’ll be in trouble.”
Draymond Green’s role in Steve Kerr’s system took off during the 2014-15 season. From starting just 13 games in two seasons, he became part of the opening unit in all 79 games he played. He emerged as the Golden State Warriors’ anchor on defense and the team’s enforcer.
Kobe Bryant knew and rightly predicted that Green would have to sustain his sometimes troublesome ways to consistently put the Dubs on their toes. Complacency and lack of discipline could be the Warriors’ biggest weaknesses, which were evident in their loss to the inept Lakers.
Fortunately for the Dubs, Green never surrendered the role Bryant had predicted he would have to continue playing. In some cases, he may have overstepped that part, particularly in the 2016 NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
History showed that the Dubs blew a 3-1 series lead and lost in humiliating fashion to the Cavaliers. Green’s accumulation of flagrant fouls, led to a suspension in Game 5.
Draymond Green has been a big part of the Golden State Warriors’ success and failures
The Golden State Warriors built a dynasty by winning four championships in eight years. One could say that they could have easily achieved more had things turned out differently. Draymond Green has been a big part of those successes and shortcomings.
Fans may easily remember how Green’s heated confrontation against Kevin Durant led KD to eventually distance himself and leave the Dubs. Had that incident not happened, the Warriors may still be terrorizing the league. When healthy, they were unbeatable with their “Death Lineup.”
Last season, the Warriors were favored to repeat as champs. Things were running smoothly that even Draymond Green promised the team would win three or four more championships in the next five years.
From out of nowhere, Green punching former teammate Jordan Poole turned the Warriors’ season into a big struggle. They couldn’t consistently keep themselves going, especially on the road where they hardly resembled the defending champs.
However, Kobe Bryant could not have ever guessed that Green would play a role in the altercation involving teammate Jordan Poole last offseason.
The Warriors later traded Jordan Poole and extended the former Defensive Player of the Year winner. For better or worse, they’re sticking with the player who has been central to nearly every Warriors' success or failure.