Stephen A. Smith heard Draymond Green’s what-if and took it somewhere colder: accountability.
Green recently wondered aloud whether Steve Kerr’s system hindered his offensive development, especially after Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State in 2016. His argument was not simply bitterness. Green acknowledged Kerr’s role in helping him become a championship pillar, while also saying the Warriors have not had a play designed for him in years. It was a complicated reflection from a player whose career has been built on sacrifice.
Smith’s answer was much less complicated.
“We can not count the number of times that defenses have sat back and dared Draymond to shoot jump shots, and he did not convert,” Smith said. “That is not the coach. That is you… I am not about to sit here and blame a coach for you as a player, for you having opportunity after opportunity and years to improve your jump shooting ability, and it never happened.”
Stephen A Smith reacts to Draymond Green saying Steve Kerr hindered his career:
“We can not count the number of times that defenses have sat back and dared Draymond to shoot jump shots, and he did not convert. That is not the coach. That is you… I am not about to sit here and… https://t.co/JeSwLG8hUP pic.twitter.com/NTInjoSVUj
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 30, 2026
That is the sharpest counter to Green’s complaint. Kerr may not have called plays for Draymond, but opponents called his number every night in a different way. They helped off him. They sagged into the lane. They dared him to punish space. In the Warriors’ beautiful offensive machine, Green often became the release valve, the short-roll passer, the handoff hub, the connector between Curry’s gravity and everyone else’s movement. But when defenses asked him to become a scorer, the answer was inconsistent enough to shape entire playoff game plans.
Smith’s point does not erase Green’s value. It actually depends on it. Green became one of the defining players of his era without being a traditional offensive weapon. His genius was in reading the floor, defending every position, igniting transition, orchestrating from the elbows and turning chaos into order. But that greatness does not automatically make Kerr responsible for the parts of Green’s game that never fully developed.
The truth probably lives in the tension between them. Kerr’s system did ask Green to shrink certain ambitions so the dynasty could breathe. But Green also had years, shots and space to force a different conversation. If he had become a reliable jump shooter, no coach could have ignored it.
