Steve Kerr’s future with the Golden State Warriors has been in major doubt ever since the Dubs lost to the Phoenix Suns at the Play-In. The legendary head coach has had a stellar time in the Bay with the Warriors, leading them to four championships. While his career remains in question, Draymond Green’s comments about his coach have gone viral.
Green recently mentioned that Kerr’s playbook during the 2016 season did not run anything for himself. The 4-time champ saw that as a major issue that he still remembers to this day. Now, make no mistake: Green explicitly mentioned that he has immense admiration for Kerr and that he was able to move on from it and improve.
Stephen A. Smith Fires Shots at Draymond Green
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith seems to have taken Green’s comments in a different way than he might have intended. Smith took to First Take on ESPN recently and spoke about what his issue with Green was.
“He had ample opportunity to have better numbers offensively 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.”@stephenasmith reacts to Draymond Green’s comments of Steve Kerr “hindering” his offensive game… pic.twitter.com/aEw5Y1rsMS
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 30, 2026
He clarified initially, “They’re foul. They’re foul, but not in the true negative sense of the word. He was very respectful to the great Steve Kerr, who’s one of the great, great coaches we’ve ever seen, Kenny. And Draymond Green is a future Hall of Famer and a former Defensive Player of the Year, an elite defender for the vast majority of his career.”
READ MORE: ‘He’s Hindered Me’: Draymond Green Admits Steve Kerr’s Decision That Bothers Him to This Day
Smith also praised Green’s assists and mentioned that Stephen Curry wouldn’t have been able to get his shots off if it weren’t for the defender.
“Here’s why I say it’s foul. Respectfully to Draymond Green, you are not accepting responsibility for what you didn’t do. Now, Kenny, it’s rare that I would tell anybody that I’ll say it’s rare in the day that I’m going to think somebody knows more basketball than me,” Smith blasted Green.
Then Smith explained what Green could have done better. The analyst cites Green’s impressive performance in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was the time when the Warriors went 73-9, but still lost a 3-1 lead to the Cavs in the finals.
Green was absolutely balling that night, putting up 32 points and going for 11-15 shooting. He also hit six out of his eight attempted three-pointers that day, which is certainly impressive considering Green’s usual play style. His sensational game 7 outing wasn’t enough, as the Cavs won the game 93-89.
Smith mentions that he hasn’t seen that kind of shooting performance from Green ever since, which is true to some extent. Green’s TS% that night was a career high of 95.5, and for the season, it was 52.2%. The Warriors star improved to 55.6% in the 2017-18 season and has held it steady above 48% since then.
During that 2016 postseason run, Green also put up a 37-point game against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semifinals. But since then, Green’s shooting has been somewhat decent, but only because of the expectations that he set by his own performances.
Green’s playing style has also changed over the last few years, as he now does most of the dirty work for the Warriors. Smith is right, though. Curry has been able to do what he does best because of Green’s ability to keep opponents off him.
With that said, Green did mention that it was important for him to move on from that 2016 problem. And Kerr has certainly helped him to an impressive level in his career, and Green would surely attest to that.
