The Warriors head coach visited Green at his home in Los Angeles this offseason and left with an idea of what the veteran forward's game should look like going forward.
Head coach Steve Kerr drove to forward Draymond Green's house in Los Angeles about a month ago, sat down for lunch, and spent the afternoon talking through a season that both men know could define the rest of Green's career.
The Golden State Warriors have won four championships with Green anchoring the defense and running the offense from the top of the key, and Kerr confirmed on the Tom Tolbert Show on NBC Sports Bay Area this week that the visit had a purpose.
Kerr Has a Clear Picture of What He Needs
"I went to his house maybe a month ago in LA, and we sat and had lunch," Kerr said on the show. "I think my job is to try to help him be the best version of himself as a player."
Kerr did not say he wants Green to be the same player he was five years ago.
He wants the version that fits what this roster needs heading into 2026-27, and the coaching staff has a specific idea of what that looks like.
The numbers from last season tell part of the story.
Green averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists across 68 starts, and his defense was still reliable on a team that went through heavy turnover.
His three-point shooting dropped to 32.6 percent, and his 2.7 turnovers per game continued to eat into the value his playmaking creates on the other end of the floor.
Kerr acknowledged how difficult it is to ask a player like Green to adjust at this stage of his career, describing it as one of the hardest things to manage because of how deeply those competitive instincts run.
Green has always been one of the most competitive players in the league, and effort was never the concern.
A player who has operated as a point forward for a decade is being asked to simplify and let the ball move through others, and that adjustment goes deeper than just working harder.
What the Adjustments Would Mean on the Court
The changes Kerr described point toward a player who shoots more threes and commits fewer turnovers, which requires Green to change how he processes the game in real time.
Kerr wants him pulling the trigger on open looks instead of swinging the extra pass into traffic, and fewer possessions where Green tries to create from the high post.
None of that diminishes what Green means to the franchise.
Kerr has been open about the fact that none of the four championships happen without Green, and that is not an overstatement.
Green has been the connective tissue of every title run, and the current roster looks different than the ones that made the dynasty possible.
The coaching staff is asking him to adjust to those changes rather than fight against them.
Green is expected to opt out of his final contract year this offseason, which means the 2026-27 campaign could be his last in Golden State if a new deal does not come together.
Kerr's drive to Los Angeles was not a casual visit.
It was a coach telling his longest-tenured player that the door remains open, but the game that walks through it needs to look a little different than before.
