Draymond: Arguing with Kerr and walking away was a significant growth; not worried about setting a bad example for the young players

On December 26th, Beijing time, Warriors player Draymond appeared on an ESPN program and was once again asked about the dispute with Kerr. He responded and interpreted this minor conflict from different perspectives. Here is Draymond’s reply—

Draymond said: “Everything is good. Yesterday was a fantastic day; practice went well, and we had some very productive talks, not solely about that matter (the argument with Kerr). I’m really glad I stepped away from the bench at that moment because it allowed us to move forward yesterday, focusing on what our team truly needs to address and the goals we want to achieve. I feel we are playing better now. So, being able to cut losses quickly and keep moving forward is great. We’ve been together so long, such things are bound to happen. I’m excited to keep playing.”

This wasn’t Draymond’s first argument with Kerr. As one of the team leaders, did he think walking away from the bench at that time was inappropriate?

Draymond clearly didn’t think so. “No, Kerr and I have had many moments like this. At that time, I felt I knew a better way to handle it—the situation was already very heated and nothing would change. So I thought the best choice was to remove myself from that environment and let things cool down. Plus, our team was playing well, even though the shooting wasn’t great, the game flow was excellent. I didn’t want one issue to cause more problems. So I let that moment pass and walked away,” Draymond said, “Our team is good enough to keep performing well and win games, which we did. I believe that was the best decision, rather than staying and letting the conflict escalate and saying something that couldn’t be taken back.This was a huge growth for me—not just standing there arguing with Kerr but choosing to step backand let the team continue to play well and secure the victories we need.”

Finally, Kenny Smith discussed the incident from another angle. “As a team leader, do you worry that young players might see this kind of disagreement between you and Kerr—especially given your long relationship—and misunderstand it as ‘If I don’t like Kerr’s or another coach’s decisions in the future, this is how I should behave?’” In other words, does Draymond worry about setting a bad example for the younger players on the team?

Draymond said: “I believe that for young players, we set examples every day, right? It’s not defined by one moment or one mistakeThese young guys are with us daily, in one of the best environments in the NBA, one of the best teams, and they have the chance to grow in such an atmosphere. A heated argument at one moment doesn’t represent everything. That’s why we work hard every day to set a good example for the young players and help them understand what they should follow.”

“In our sport, you must have a strong desire to win to compete at a high level, and sometimes things get out of control. But often, Kenny, people see a single moment and think, ‘Oh, that moment represents everything.’ We live in a media-driven world where people see a clip and assume that’s the whole truth.”

“But in our case, we’ve built enough credibility. We set examples as leaders every day, always giving our best, and we have formed strong relationships with these young players. Because of our daily efforts, I’m not worried that one moment will affect how young players see things, since what they see is the example we set day after day.”