Steve Kerr is asking for a different version of Draymond Green in 2026-27, and the message is pretty clear: take care of the ball, and let it fly when the shot is there.
During an appearance on the Tom Tolbert Show, Kerr laid out the changes he wants from Green as the Warriors adjust to a roster that has been hit by injuries and limited by a quiet offseason.
“We have to cut back on the turnovers. I want him shooting the three when he’s open. When he shoots a three, he may not be a super high-percentage shooter, but possessions are good for us when he shoots,” Kerr said.
He didn’t stop there. Kerr explained why those attempts still matter even if the percentage isn’t eye-popping.
“Because, number 1, it’s worth three. Number 2, we get offensive rebounds. Number 3, there’s a flow to the game that has to happen: if someone is open and they shoot it, the game keeps moving.”
Green’s 2025-26 numbers show the kind of all-around production Golden State is still leaning on. He averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 41.8% from the field and 32.6% from behind the three-point line.
He’s not a conventional long-range threat, but he can still punish teams that leave him alone. That was especially true while Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody were healthy for most of the season.
Their injuries are a big reason Kerr’s expectations for Green have shifted. With the Warriors unable to make major roster changes, the veteran core is being asked to cover the gaps.
“So he’s probably gonna, you know, be in, um, and I’ve told him about, you know, we’ve talked. I went to his house maybe a month ago in LA, and we sat, had lunch, had a great conversation, and talked about these things.”
Kerr also made it sound like he and Green have already had the hard conversations.
“He knows there’s going to be some changes, and he’s always going to be himself. There’s going to be good and bad that comes with that, and we’re okay with that,” Kerr further added.
That relationship has had its tensions. 2025-26 could have been the final season Kerr coached Green with the Warriors, with Kerr on an expiring contract and Green holding an upcoming player option. The friction showed up publicly, including a fight and Green’s comments that Kerr held him back from reaching his true potential.
Kerr answered that point carefully, but the meaning was hard to miss.
“Like, it doesn’t mean we’re thrilled with every single thing he says, but I think my job is to try to help him be the best version of himself as a player,” Kerr said, while subtly responding to Draymond Green’s claims.
“And sometimes that might include, you know, ‘Hey, maybe let’s pull back on this thing or that thing.’ Yeah. And that’s a really hard, hard, hard thing to pull off with Dray because he is who he is,” Kerr concluded.
In the end, both sides stayed put. Kerr signed a two-year extension with Golden State, and Green signed a one-year extension. Now the challenge is simple enough to say and hard enough to pull off: keep the partnership working for the good of the team.
Kerr also addressed the Warriors’ quiet offseason head-on, making it clear the team is going to have to lean on what it already has.
“Look, we did the best we could to put together the roster. I think Yaxel is going to help quite a bit.
He’s a really good player. He’s older.
He’s mature. Watching him work out with our guys, he’s going to help us,” Steve Kerr explained.
He pointed to several other names as part of the answer, not headline-grabbing additions, but players he believes can handle real minutes.
“Gui Santos, Brandin Podziemski these guys are going to help us. Georges Niang, Brandon Williams, new signees- nothing earth-shattering, but really good players who can play a lot of minutes. So, I think our depth is the answer.”
That depth may have to carry a heavy load early.
“We’re going to have to rely on our whole roster, including our two-way players at times, and fortunately, I do feel really good about the guys we have who have kind of filled out the back end of the roster, and I think they can help us hold down the fort until Jimmy and Moses get back in the second half of the year,” Kerr concluded.
Golden State’s lack of offseason movement also created uncertainty around Stephen Curry’s future, but Curry appears committed to finishing his career in the Bay Area whether or not the team is in title form.
For now, the Warriors are banking on their veterans, their depth, and a few adjustments from Green to keep things moving until Butler and Moody return.
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