Draymond Green '23-'24 season review: Balling through the suspensions?

Green proved he can still be an impact player...when he's on the court that is.

A long time ago I had a story idea about a guy who lives a hum drum family life in suburban America who when he goes to sleep teleports into a dream where he’s a caveman thousands of years ago battling mythical creatures to save a woman he loves.

If this sounds like a generic story that has already been done in book/movie form, let me know so I can watch it and see somebody do my vision properly.

That’s how I feel like sometimes when my mind leaves the friendly confines of Dub Nation HQ as I wake back up to reality, the sun peeking above the mountains and sending rays down onto my face as I roll over scowling in bed. A land far away from this utopia for intelligent, passionate Warriors fans; a world where I’m surrounded by insane people who only watch highlights and have the audacity to utter things like, “Luka’s really better than Steph dawg, no cap.”

In this hellscape of trash basketball opinions and disrespect to the (crumbling?) Golden Empire, I drive to work, sipping my protein shake and zooming down highway lanes like Andre Iguodala slashing to the rim.

By the time I get to work, the downtown is beginning to bustle. Buses are roaring by, the heels of women sauntering to work click and clack down the sidewalk, while some cardiofreaks sprint by me in full sweat to get their heart rate up before breakfast.

My co-workers have a pretty fair idea that I’m an internationally known sh*t talker in the world of Warriors basketball, so they’re very eager to pounce on me as I come through the elevator doors to the third floor of the building. They ask if I’ve seen last night’s game (probably), or if I’m ready to admit Klay Thompson is washed (how dare you).

Sometimes I’m game to recap the previous night’s shenanigans, other times I’m narrowing my eyes at them as I realize they’re trying to distract me from the fact that they haven’t delivered the DELIVERABLES that our company so desperately needs, pronto!

Then there’s the OG’s on the team who wait until I sit at my desk and saunter up with a cup of coffee. They usually start with some work task that needs to be done, using a basketball metaphor to really drive it home to a guy with my background.

“If we don’t get our sales up, we’re not gonna meet our goals for this quarter,” my manager Bob cautiously starts, his eyes drifting from me to the windows overlooking the city. “And technically it’s the third quarter of this year, so we gotta make sure we stay on top of things. I trust you’re gonna get it done!”.

As he leans against the glass quietly, I nod my head and start to respond affirmatively with my three-step plan to execute. “That makes sense Bob, and that’s why first I’m gonna—”.

Bob jumps in, cutting me off with glee: “And I trust you’re gonna get it done because you’re a third quarter guy, just like the Warriors are as a team! They always turn it around in the third quarter!”.

My eyes drop to half mast as I realize this was all a thinly veiled ruse to mention the Dubs to me, and I fell for it in my honest effort to be professional. Everybody wants some of the gold blood, eh?

But this time, an impish indignation rises up in me. No more inane work-related jokes; it’s time to crank up the hoops knowledge intensity.

“Gotta question for ya Bob,” I mutter, locking my eyes on the coffee mug ring-stained surface of the white tabletop perched between us. “Is Draymond Green a Hall-of-Famer?”

He choked on his coffee, the cup dropping out of his trembling fingers and smashing to bits all over the floor. The piercing sound fills the room as I lift my eyes slowly until my gaze locks on his face, tunneling through him with years of pent up basketball IQ frothing within me.

“He’s one of the premier defenders of this generation, isn’t he Bob? And on the greatest offense of the modern-era, he was the de facto point guard, leading the team in assists every year, didn’t he… Bob?”.

My supervisor staggers backwards, tearing at the top buttons of his shirt, eyes wide as saucers. His voice cracks as he tried to get the words out, blood pouring from his nostrils. I connect my fingers together in an authoritative hand mudra and lean over the desk with a maniacal grin.

“IS DRAY A HALL-OF-FAMER BOB?!”

He crashes through the window backwards, falling out of view. And suddenly, I wake up again back here in Dub Nation HQ. How we feeling about Draymond this offseason, folks?

Draymond’s wild ride

It was at the end of the 2022-2023 season that Green resigned with the Golden Empire for 4yrs/$100 million to possibly guarantee he ends his career as a Warrior for liiiife. Check out his comments on the deal from the Pat Beverly pod:

“I think for a second it seemed like I would have to explore other teams and do the thing, but what I will say is Golden State made it very clear to me I was a priority,” Green said. “They made it very clear to me that they wanted to do all that they could for me to still be there and be a part of what we built, and I am a Warrior for the rest of my life. I think that was one of the biggest things for me, is Joe said to me, he said, ‘This is not some contract. You're our partner for the rest of your life.' That was huge for me.”

A season later, Draymond was in therapy. One of the league’s greatest defenders suddenly was having trouble being defended by even his staunchest supporters in Dub Nation.

Would it be unfair to characterize Green’s season as a domino effect of bizarre ejections?

Sure, Draymond had a couple of incidents early in the season where he got a little handsy and perhaps may have strangled Rudy Gobert. BUT, mayhaps Green rightfully predicted that Gobert would be a part of the mighty French Olympic basketball team that nearly knocked off the U.S. Men’s team in the Paris Gold Medal game a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately, that led to a five game suspension, with the Dubs losing 3 outta the 5 during that streak.

In light of that, this next clip is a little tough to defend, as it ultimately lead to a *checks Basketball Reference* 16-game absence:

The Dubs were 8-8 over that stretch, making them a combined 10-11 during his suspension related absences.

It even appeared to get to franchise legend Stephen Curry, who appeared demonstrably distraught after Green was ejected for two quick techs against the Orlando Magic.

But with all that said, the Warriors were a quality 33-22 in the games that Green did play. That’s a 60% clip! That averages out to a 49 win season.

49 games coincidentally is what the Phoenix Suns had last season, which made them the sixth seed and kept them out of the dreaded play-in tournament. That tells me that Green is still a force on the court for winning. He had eight games with at least 10-assists, second on the team only to Chris Paul with 11.

He was also second on the team in 3PT%, shaking off the allegations of being a non-threat from beyond the arc.

A point-forward who can dish the rock to get Steve Kerr’s motion offense running, knock down threes at damn near a 40% clip, and still play lockdown defense? YEAH THAT’S RIGHT, HE STILL PLAYS D!

That’s pretty valuable, folks!

He also gives a great interview, just ask….me? Here’s the legend answering my question about defending the great Joel Embiid in January.

So now, my question to you is.. is Draymond Green a Hall-of-Famer? OH DAMN SOMEBODY CHECK ON BOB!