Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has apologized for an altercation with one of his longest-tenured players.
Kerr and Warriors forward Draymond Green had a heated exchange in the huddle during a third-quarter timeout Monday night, which caused Green to head to the locker room on his own to cool down.
Kerr said even once Green returned to the bench for the finish of Golden State’s 120-97 win against the Orlando Magic, he wasn’t going to play again after what happened.
“We got into it obviously and I took the timeout just because I thought we lost our focus there a little bit,” Kerr said after the game. “We had it out a little bit and he made his decision to go back to the locker room to cool off and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Everything is private. I’ve got nothing further to add.”
Two days later, Kerr said the incident is water under the bridge and that he and Green apologized to each other and the team.
“Monday was not my finest hour,” Kerr told reporters on Wednesday. “… My goal is for (Green) to finish his career as a Warrior with us, fighting and competing together until we’re both done.”
“We’re far more alike than many would realize,” Kerr added.
Golden State’s 15-15 record is hardly what this group expected at this stage, and Green noted on Monday “that’s probably why tempers are flaring.”
Asked Monday if he thinks the issue will linger, Kerr said: “No.”
“The group’s ready to go, you could see in the game tonight,” he explained. “We need Draymond. He’s a champion. We’ve been together for a long time. All we can do is the rest of the group keep pushing, keep getting better. I thought this was one of our better games. I thought the first half was brilliant — we just didn’t make shots. I thought Draymond played great.”
The Warriors’ first game since the incident will take place on Christmas Day when they host sensational rookie Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks (5 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+).
— With files from the Associated Press