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Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green is quite the polarizing basketball player, and his head coach, Steve Kerr, can attest to that during their years together in the Bay Area.
Kerr and Green have come to a standstill over the years, but four NBA titles combined have also been the result.
During a recent, in-depth interview with The New Yorker, Kerr admitted that Green has pushed him to his limits. And while he would “do anything for him,” Kerr also admitted that Green has crossed the line to the point of no return.
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Draymond Green reacts with head coach Steve Kerr after being ejected in the final moments of an NBA play-in tournament game against the Phoenix Suns at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona on April 17, 2026. The Suns defeated the Warriors 111-96. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“There are things he’s done that I can never forgive him for, and yet I’ll do anything for him,” Kerr told the paper.
It’s no secret that Kerr and Green have needed to be apart, whether it’s during a game or in more private settings. In December 2025, Green was seen telling Kerr, “F— you,” which ultimately led to the star forward being sent to the locker room in a game against the Orlando Magic.
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“Yeah. I mean, people pull us apart. And in my first five years, we’d get in three knockdown, dragouts a year,” Kerr said of him and Green. “Part of it was that I just had to show the rest of the team that I’m in charge. You have to do things according to a set of standards. It’s a community that you build, not just a team – a small community with values and standards and expectations. And then you’re a community that has to monitor itself. The coach has to demand certain behavior, certain habits. So then we had understood him for a long time. me. But this year we had a big blowout in December.”
Kerr called Green “such a unique person” who has a great mind for basketball. He needs it to play his position at just 6-foot-6 when forwards are usually much taller elsewhere in the league.
With Green, 36, closer to retirement than he is not, coaching has been a matter of speculation. He wasn’t usually in that frame of mind, but in the latest discussion, Green seems open to the prospect of coaching after his playing days.
However, Kerr is not sure if his temperament is suitable for it.
“I don’t know if he wants to coach. He definitely has the brain for it. I don’t know if he has the patience,” Kerr explained. “He’s an incredibly passionate, emotional guy, and that passion and energy has often gotten him into trouble. And I love him. I think he’s a really good-hearted person with an incredible brain, but if he’s going to train, he’s going to have to learn to control some of that emotion, that desire, and that fire that’s not burning in him, and that’s not easy to do.”
Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors react in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on March 21, 2026. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Green is not the most gifted NBA player in terms of physical stature, speed or strength. But Green knows how tenacious he can be as a defender, making the NBA All-Defensive Team nine times in his career while earning the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
In fact, Kerr, who played with the iconic Chicago Bulls dynasty during his time on the hardwood, said Green is the best defender he’s ever seen in the league.
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“It says a lot when I played with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman,” Kerr added. “The modern game demands so much more than it did in the 1990s. You have to be able to guard all five positions because there’s so much pace and energy and crossovers. You drive back on defense, you have to guard the guy in front of you. And then there’s the pick-on game: the opposing team is going to bring the weakest pick-and-roller into the weakest defender.
“Draymond, he can guard any play, any position, any player. And he can also blow up the play behind the play if he’s not involved in the play because of his brain, his quickness, his range.”
It’s one of those roller-coaster relationships, but one Kerr will never regret with Green — even if he’s crossed the line a time or two.
Draymond Green talks with head coach Steve Kerr after receiving a technical foul in the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings during the NBA In-Season Tournament game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 28, 2023. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
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While Green has a player option for next season with the Warriors, all eyes are on Kerr as he ponders a big decision on whether or not he wants to return as head coach. He told the outlet that it would be an easy decision if Green and Steph Curry were to retire this year, but that is not the case.
Kerr said the Warriors will discuss their vision for the future in the coming weeks, but he’s unsure right now if he wants to be a part of it.
