Ex-Warriors GM Myers reveals what he’d tell Draymond after suspension originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Bob Myers isn’t a part of the Warriors organization any longer, but the former NBA executive-turned-TV analyst has been keeping up with Golden State’s latest woes.
The Warriors are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, almost half of which star point guard Steph Curry has missed with a knee injury. And in Curry’s absence, Draymond Green was ejected from Golden State’s game Tuesday and subsequently suspended five games for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock during an on-court scuffle.
So, what would Myers, former Warriors general manager and president of basketball operations, say to Green after he was suspended for the fifth time in his career?
“The Draymond stuff is the Draymond stuff,” Myers told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” podcast. “If that’s me, I’m saying, ‘Hey, that’s it.’ Right? You’ve made your mistake … So now you can’t make any more, and I would assume he’d look me in the eye and say, ‘Yeah, OK.’
“You kind of used up your mulligan early, so now we’ve got to get through the rest of the 18 holes. And I think he would agree. He would say, ‘You’re right.’ It’s not good for the team, it’s not good for him. I don’t think he’ll push back on that.”
Green, Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels all were ejected from the game for their role in the fracas, but the NBA only suspended Green for placing Gobert in the headlock.
On Thursday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Green “took it too far” during Golden State’s tussle with OKC and that grabbing Gobert by the neck crossed the line.
Myers told Kawakami he and Green remain in contact despite his decision to step down from his front-office role. He developed a close relationship with the Warriors veteran over the years and knows he is receptive to any feedback or criticism, even if his track record doesn’t quite reflect that.
“The best thing about Draymond I think people may not know is, at least in my relationship with Draymond, he will listen. He does listen,” Myers said, recalling his past player-GM conversations with Green. “… I think he listens, but he still makes mistakes.”
The Warriors certainly hope Green will use this suspension as a learning lesson, because with plenty of games left in the 2023-24 NBA season, the team needs its defensive leader on the court.
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