In a candid end‑of‑season interview, Warriors forward Draymond Green outlines the team’s offseason outlook after a second‑round playoff exit. He emphasizes that acquiring a "Jimmy Butler‑type" player—referring to the recent addition of Jimmy Butler—was the biggest roster change needed, and that the focus now shifts to improving overall team performance rather than making desperate star moves. Green critiques the past three months of "playoff mode" during the regular season, noting the physical toll and the need for a stronger start to the year. He discusses his own role at the center position, asserting he remains a viable five‑position option while acknowledging the league’s trend toward bigger, more versatile big men. Green praises the front office, especially GM Mike Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob, for their measured approach to roster construction, cap flexibility, and avoidance of reckless trades. He looks forward to a full training camp with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, believing it will improve defensive cohesion and overall readiness. When asked about potential star acquisitions, Green reiterates the organization’s philosophy of careful evaluation, cap freedom, and willingness to explore free‑agency or trade opportunities without compromising the team’s core. He reflects on the impact of injuries in the playoffs, expressing confidence that a healthy roster could have advanced further, and underscores the importance of learning from past setbacks. Finally, Green touches on the development of young forward Jonathan Kuminga, noting his growth and potential future role within the Warriors’ roster.
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Draymond, I know last night you said that, like, you still feel very good about the situation. What are your— what's your mindset about the team going into the offseason? Do you think some pretty big changes need to be made, or you just think a little here and there and that should be enough to get you back close to where you want to be?
I think the biggest change that needed to be made was we needed someone like Jimmy Butler. And we made that change. So— I think the hardest part is done. It's harder to get guys like that through trade, through free agency, just doesn't come up often. And so I think that part is done and puts us in a much better situation going into this offseason than last year where we were kind of looking for that.
Yeah.
You know, and so that being said, we have to get better, you know, and we understand that, you know, we lost in the second round regardless of what the circumstances were. We lost in the second round. So we need to improve. I've always, we've always spoke about there being 82-game players and 16-game players. At some point for us, we have to take a look at both because, you know, ideally you don't want to be from February 8th on scrap, scrapping and clawing for every win that you could possibly get. That takes a toll after a while. You know, for us, we've kind of been in playoff mode for the last 3 months. It's not a highly effective way to win a championship. And so I think we all understand that from top to bottom in the organization. And we need to put ourselves in a better position to have a great year, not finish great. If that makes sense. I hope that don't come off as like, yeah, we want to finish great, obviously, but the year needs to be indicative of that to allow the finish to be what we want it to be. You know, having to play 3 months of playoff, I think ultimately took its toll, you know, over the course of the last few weeks. So I think that'll be the focus. Feel very confident, very strongly that we can still make another run or 2 at the ultimate prize, but we definitely, have to get better.
How do you view the future of the center spot for this organization and how much it's going to be, you know, you when it comes down to it, or how much you, you know, might need just more reinforcements at this stage of your career?
I am the center of the future. No, I'm just playing.
I mean, you might be right.
No, honestly, Listen, Loon has been here for 10 years and he's been incredible. Was a key cog in us winning a championship in 2022. Trace has grown a lot, you know, over the past 2 years of being the, what was he, the 52nd pick or something like that? 57th? And you know, with the strides that he's made, it's been incredible. What we do at the position, I'm not sure. That's not really my role. But what I will say is I think you always have to be looking to get better. If you're not looking to get better in this league— I missed. If you're not looking to get better in this league, you're either getting better or you're getting worse because everyone else is doing the same. And so I don't know what happens. I think, you know, Mike will take a deep look at all of those things. I know whenever I'm caught up on the Play the Five, I can. I think, you know, there was a big, there was kind of a big worry with me playing the 5 so much this year. And I think I've answered those questions. You know, I've been strictly a 5 since Jimmy's been here until 2 nights ago. You know, so, and I think I, my body held up great. I feel great. Think I'm coming out of this season as healthy as I've come out of any season. Mm-hmm. And that was with logging 35 to 37 minutes a night for 3 straight months at the 5 position fighting for a playoff spot. And so I know I'm cut out for it and can handle it. Uh, but I said we, we have to get better and, and improving requires you to look at everything. So I'll always be an option for our organization. And if they want to go that direction, I'm always— Yeah. Gonna be right, I'm not, I wouldn't turn that down. You know, what if it's like, oh man, you can start at the 5 or you don't start? Well, I'm gonna start at the 5. You know? I'm, it is what it is. I think when I look around the league, yeah, guys are big. Joker, Sengun, Zubac. Zubac. Joel, healthy Joel, like, yeah, but I don't back down from anyone. And if that's what our organization decide to do, I'll be right here, ready to go. And if they decide that wanna go one of the fives on the roster, great. If they wanna decide they wanna go after someone, great. You know me, I'm always in favor of what's best for this organization. I can always see past myself when it comes to this organization.
Mm-hmm.
Draymond, we know the guarantee that you made at the All-Star break, but then you also said later to Carith Amani that you like your chances even more next season. How excited are you to have a full training camp with Jimmy, a full season with Jimmy, and how much did you learn in these 3 months about the core of you, Steph, and Jimmy? I learned that we're capable. You know, we all believe we're capable, but then to get out there and put the product on the floor and actually prove that you are, even more so to ourselves than anyone. We're capable. Training camp will be great for us. It's funny, 'cause I was just telling, I was talking to Stack on the bench last night and we was talking about some things. I'm like, man, like if this group had training camp together, like some of the mistakes that we make, we just wouldn't make, you know, especially on the defensive end. Like we just wouldn't make those mistakes if we had a training camp. And so, I think, like I said, I think coming back next year, we'll be even in a better position than we were this year. Number one, cause you can manage the season better, you know, like, which helps when you're trying to compete for a championship, especially at the ages we're at, it helps a lot. So the utmost confidence in it, the, that we can come back and do what we set out to do. It'll take some possible retooling of the roster. I don't think any roster has stayed the same from year to year in the NBA, and definitely not one that lost in the second round. So, I think we got the best organization in the league. Mike Dunleavy has been nothing short of amazing since taking over for arguably the greatest, one of the greatest GMs in NBA history, come in and take over an impossible job. Like, how do you follow that success up? And yet I can tell you, just as someone who's been in the weeds, he's been amazing. Being a GM is oftentimes judged by the roster moves you make. Big team you build. The part that people don't show is all the sidebar conversations and having a pulse of the team. Like Mike has an incredible pulse of this team. He's always in the weeds on the small stuff. A lot like Bob was, you know, no conversation is left unturned. He's not afraid to have the tough conversations. And that's special. Cuz it, a lot of people aren't like that. And so I have the utmost confidence that Mike will do the right things and the job that he's been doing as just keeping this thing together and moving it forward and helping it grow collectively as an organization. But then also the work that he does with individuals and the conversations that he's walking around having with individuals. He understands it. He gets it, which puts us in a really good spot.
Draymond, there could be some stars available this summer. When you and Jimmy and Steph talk about what you guys need, do you think it's another star? Do you think it's improving, you know, on the margins, whether it be more size, more shooting, knowing the landscape today? Because I mean, I remember when last summer you guys went after stars, you said, hey, this— might not work at all. We gotta be careful. How do you feel about now knowing with you three guys what you might need?
With us three, I think, you know, like I said, I think we've shown that we'll have a good chance. As far as stars go, you ultimately hope that what you have is enough because it's hard to get stars. Like even if they're available, it's just hard to pull off and not give up something you want to give up or, auctioning off the future of your organization. Like, it's tough to get. You see that happen around the league often, and more often than not, it usually don't work. Like, I think it's not worked way more often than it actually has worked. And so you have to be conscious of that. You can't just—
Yeah.
Go after name because the name is like, we, we've won enough to know what winning looks like and what the pieces, how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. And so we'll, we'll operate in that manner. For as much as I could say being a player and not like really making the decisions, but I, I've been here for 13 years. I know how this organization works. Joe won't make a desperate move. Or Joe won't allow a desperate move to make, and Mike's not a desperate guy. It's just not something we do. And so I don't foresee us auctioning off everything for someone. I could be wrong, but it's just not how this organization has operated. In saying that, I think anytime the opportunity presents itself, you always have to lift up the curtain and take a peek if you want to be an organization that competes at the highest level, which we are. So yeah, you're always going to take a peek and see what's out there and listen. But does that ultimately happen? I don't know. But what I will say is Mike's done such an incredible job that if we did want to do that, we're set up for it.
Mm-hmm.
And so ultimately all you want to do is give yourself a chance, whether that's a chance in free agency, whether that's a chance in trade talks, whether that's a chance at a championship. Ultimately in this league, you just want to give yourself a chance. And I think with the great work that our front office has done, our ownership group has done, we're in a position to where we could do that. If that's something that they saw fit and wanted to do. And that's ultimately what you want. You know, in life we want freedom. You want financial freedom, you want cap freedom, you know, as far as basketball go, you want cap freedom. In life we want financial freedom. We want, you know, so our organization has done a great job of that. And we're in a position to where if that's what they see fit and want to do, we can do that. And I think that's the best position to be in.
Last two, Ann and then Anthony.
Draymond, you said that you were going to follow Steph and Jimmy to a championship. Looking at the postseason landscape right now, if Steph had been healthy, do you still think that you guys could have done that? I wholeheartedly believe Steph was healthy, we could have done that. But I once won a championship where Kyrie Irving got hurt in the NBA Finals and Kevin Love got hurt in the NBA Finals. Do I think we still would have won if they didn't get hurt? I do believe so, but we'll never know. That's just the nature of the sport that we play. Injuries are a part of it and they're unfortunate. So you can't take the good and be like, oh man, we won a championship and it don't matter that somebody was hurt. On the flip side, can't sit here and be like, we would have won. Has Steph not got hurt? No, you've been on the other side of that. So respect it when it don't go your way. You know, one thing I hate is a front runner, you know? Oh man, we won our championships because we were that good, which we were, but Kyrie Irving got hurt. Kevin Love got hurt. Robert Williams got hurt. That is the nature of the sport we play. So unfortunately this time, luck wasn't on our side and Steph Curry got hurt, but we've dealt with it before. Kevin Durant got hurt, Klay Thompson got hurt, you know? So you start to take a peek. It happens every year somewhere. It may not be here, it may be another team, but when it ain't on your side, you can't be the guys that go up there and be like, man, we would've won if, Yeah, in a perfect world, probably, but the world ain't perfect. It's far from it. And so take the good with the bad. The Minnesota Timberwolves ended our season. They beat us regardless of who we had on the floor. We were a playoff team and they moving on. That's just, it sucks for Steph that he wasn't able to be out there. Cuz you work so hard for those moments to be, to be in that situation. And so I feel for him, but under no circumstance will I be like, oh man, they lucky. Nah, they won. And move on. We try to get better this offseason and try to do it again next year.
What is your kind of big picture view on Kaminga and his 4 years here? And, you know, the talent that he is, the fit that has kind of, you know, been a roller coaster. Just, and his future and if it's here.
His future is bright, whether it's here or whether it's somewhere else, his future is bright. That type of talent usually figures it out. And I think he will figure it out. Like I said, I don't know where that will be, but wherever it'll be, I think he'll be just fine. When I look at his 4 years, I think he's grown a ton. A ton. The player he was coming in here 4 years ago and the player that he is today. He made a couple plays in that game defensively yesterday. And I pulled him to the side. I said, "Now you playing." Because you're making reads defensively. I think maybe Nikhil Alexander-Walker had screened for Ant-Man and got the switch on maybe Buddy, could have been BP. I don't really remember who it was that switched onto him. JK starts diving down the paint with his man. Most guys in that situation go run with the man, leave that guy on the island, and then hope that the next guy go help. And he stopped, he ran with him, he saw that he wasn't looking, stopped at the free throw line, and went back and double-teamed that. That's a play he wouldn't have made 3 months ago, and to most people, that's a very small play, but that is how you stop problems on the defensive end before they happen. So to see him taking those steps, I think that's more special than, than, than the offensive steps he's taken because you're really starting to read the game now. And so I think, same thing I've always believed, his future is extremely bright. In this business that we're in, there's no way to be certain that that'll be here or somewhere else. But the beautiful thing about it is when you're a talent like that, Usually people usually find a way to make it work. So whether that's the Warriors finding a way to make it work or another team finding a way to make it work, he has my utmost love and support because I want to see him do well. And in an ideal world, that'll be here. But this game we play in this sport we're in and this business we're in, it ain't always ideal. So. See what happens, but definitely wishing him the best of luck with his free agency because we've all been there before. It's a very stressful place, but it's the nature of the business. So I think he's taken tremendous strides and I think he'll continue to grow.
