The Golden State Warriors' dynasty goes beyond the players. Steve Kerr and his assistants have developed a system that maximizes his rosters' strengths, and that takes plenty of planning and adjusting.
That's where a smart guy like Draymond Green comes in handily. He's a basketball savant and a great student of the game, which is why Kerr rarely hesitates to turn to him for advice.
Green, Steph Curry, and Kerr have been together for the past eight years. They know how the other thinks, they know how to make their teammates, better, and what works and what doesn't:
“We’re at the point now that Steph’s 13 (seasons) in, I’m 10 in,” Draymond told The Athletic. “We’ve all been together eight years (with Kerr). We trust what the coaches say, they trust what we see. It’s a partnership."
So, even though Kerr and his staff do most of the work, they're always open to hearing what he and Steph have to say about it:
"They do obviously 99.8 percent of the game plan. Then, if we have input, they take our input," Green added. "We like to put our brains together, give them thoughts on what we’re feeling on the court, which sometimes can be a little different than what they’re seeing. And then try to make it all work together.”
Green is an intelligent player and his input is often valued by his coach. For instance, Kerr recalled talking to him about playing rookie Moses Moody in the series against the Mavs, and turns out that Green had the very same idea:
“I talked to Draymond after that and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I totally agree,'” Kerr said. “So I think we’re on the same page most of the time, anyway, because we’ve been together for so long and we know what works and what’s necessary. It wasn’t like we had this moment where Draymond and I put our heads together and said, ‘What do we do?’ It was more like we both recognized beforehand, before we talked to one another, that Moses made sense for this series.”
Not many teams give their players that much input in their game-planning and decision-making. But the Warriors are now one win away from their sixth NBA Finals in eight years with Steve Kerr, so, clearly, their system works.
Green has one of the highest basketball IQs in the league and he'd make a great coach or assistant once he's retired, that's for sure.
