Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has a few other concerns to address other than trying to bring back the NBA title to the Bay Area next year as he talked about his controversial players Draymond Green and Kevin Durant in recent interviews.
Talking to CSN Bay Area earlier this week, the 50-year-old five-time NBA champion spoke about Green's progressive, problematic on and off the court behavior and that he wants the two-time All-Defensive First Teamer to "walk the line" in good fashion this coming season as to not provide distractions for the club.
"He (Green) and I have talked. He and (general manager) Bob (Myers) have talked," said Kerr. "Draymond knows we need his edge. We need his intensity. We need him to walk that line, and he's probably crossed it a couple times. I think he's perfectly capable of toeing the line, walking it and still being the player that is. That's going to be his focus next year."
The 26-year-old big man's last six months had been wild, to say the least, with multiple "unflattering" incidents since the year began.
The first one was in February when Green broke a gasket at the Chesapeake Energy Arena during halftime in a game versus the Thunder. In March, he naively posted a video of himself driving 118 mph on an East Bay freeway in his social media account.
After that he kicked Thunder big man Steven Adams groin in a live playoff game seen by millions of viewers before eventually getting suspended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals after another groin incident with Cavs superstar LeBron James. Some say that his Game 5 suspension cost the Warriors a second straight title, but no one will know.
Green was then arrested last month for a late night brawl outside a Michigan restaurant. Finally, just recently, he again made a mistake in social media by "accidentally" posting a photograph of his male private part on his Snapchat account.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Kerr also defended his other player, Kevin Durant, from critics saying that the former league MVP will be considered a villain next season for joining Golden State's already super-team.
"To think of Kevin Durant or Steph Curry or any of our guys as villains, it's kind of absurd. Especially Kevin," the coach told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
"This is one of the most likeable people in this league. He's just an awesome human being. What he did in Oklahoma City was just amazing for that community," he added.
