Steve Kerr on Draymond Green, Warriors trade rumors: ‘It puts guys on edge, for sure’

SAN FRANCISCO — As the trade speculation continues to hover around Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, his longtime coach, Steve Kerr, said he has spoken with the veteran about the chatter heading into Thursday’s trade deadline.

“I talked to him a little bit about it (Monday),” Kerr said before Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. “I just try to get a feel for what’s out there, what’s happening. If I need to just step in and say something or talk to a guy, I’ll do that. And this is probably the first time, I would say, since I’ve been here, that his name has ever been really mentioned in trade talks, so it’s different, but it’s also part of the league. It’s part of almost every player’s journey in this league, just being mentioned. But it is the first time for him, so it’s a little different.”

After Friday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, Green said he wasn’t losing sleep about whether he’d be dealt before the deadline as the Warriors continue to pursue Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Green’s inclusion in ongoing trade talks comes after one league source told The Athletic the Warriors have assured injured forward Jimmy Butler the organization will stick by him as he begins a year-long rehab for a torn right ACL. With that in mind, either Butler’s or Green’s salary slot must be included to make a deal for Antetokounmpo work.

Kerr was also asked whether he felt Green wasn’t concerned about whatever may happen in the coming days.

“That’s what we all tell you,” Kerr said. “That we all (don’t) lose sleep. We all lose sleep over this. It’s a weird profession, a very transient nature to it all. And, so, it’s something every coach has to sort of manage and navigate with his players. I try to do it in a broad sense with our guys every year, just in terms of what the job is and how to best manage yourself in this profession and how to do that.

“And then, if there are individual names and things that are being talked about, I’ll check in with guys periodically. This has definitely been a more difficult (trade deadline) than most. Last year’s was very difficult as well. We had a lot of years where nobody was really overly concerned about anything, but these last two years, there’s been a lot of chatter, and it puts guys on edge, for sure.”

Green has struggled to find a rhythm at various points throughout the season and endured a stretch in December that included a verbal altercation with Kerr during a win over the Orlando Magic. Green left the bench after. Kerr later apologized for his part in the exchange and the pair patched up their differences.

Green recently told The Athletic that he was confident that the team would come to a collaborative decision in regard to options for the future. But those comments came before Butler’s injury changed the short-term decisions for the team and put Green’s status, after 14 seasons in the Bay, up in the air.

For his part, Kerr said he wasn’t going to be digging too deep into the conversations GM Mike Dunleavy is having about the present and future.

“We have a pretty clear separation of powers here which I think is the right way to do it,” Kerr said before Tuesday’s game. “Mike calls me if anything comes up. I don’t call him and make any suggestions. He called me today to kind of give me a heads up on some of the things they were talking about. They definitely take my input, but I’m not on the trade machine at home.