Draymond Green is coming back, because now is as good a time as ever for the Warriors.
The Golden State forward spent the last week away from the team, and he paid a big fine, and now everything is fine with the Dubs.
Well… sort of.
The emotional effects of Green punching Jordan Poole still linger within the team, and the public fallout from the video of that punch leaking hasn’t dissipated.
So with Green’s return to practice on Thursday, it’s fair to wonder if the Warriors’ brass is making the right decision to bring Green back into the fold so soon.
If there was a rubric for a situation like this, I’m sure the Warriors would be following it.
But who can say what is the right or wrong way of handling this strange scenario?
Seriously, how much time should Green have spent away from the team?
If the Warriors would have brought him back earlier this week, I’m sure there would have been outrage. Had they suspended him well into the regular season, his activation would look like a basketball decision (there’s no way the Warriors are playing good defense without Green).
There’s no right answer here.
And that means there isn’t a wrong one, either.
Ultimately, the Warriors’ brass will determine if they played this terrible hand right or wrong by how the team plays this season.
These Warriors have a tremendous amount of talent, but this is not an undeniable team like the editions that boasted Kevin Durant. The Dubs are not above this incident undercutting both this team’s regular-season play and title hopes.
Let’s be clear: What Green did was significant enough that a lesser player would have been handed a pink slip. It’s fair to believe that Green deserved such a punishment.
And that means the incident was significant enough that the effects could linger for weeks or months to come.
For now, Warriors leaders are unified on one front: Green has a lot of work to do to rebuild trust within the team.
Green said he’s willing to do the work — whatever that is. He’s already met with Poole, a logical start to his vague journey.
And I think it’s fair to say that Green cannot do that work at home.
But while Green punching Poole in the jaw was wildly inappropriate, it’d be ridiculous to suggest that it was terribly out of character. Yes, Green went way over the line last week, but this is hardly the first time he’s crossed it.
In fact, straddling that line is part of what makes Green great.
So it’s fair to wonder if Green will do what any logical person would do and tone down his voice in the aftermath of this incident.
And if that happens, will Green be the same indispensable, irreplaceable player for the Warriors?
It’s complicated. It’s messy. It’s unprecedented. When this Warriors season is all said and done, how Green reintegrates into the team could well define the year.
But this is the deal the Warriors made.
The Warriors need Draymond Green — a full-voiced Draymond Green — to win titles.
The headaches and drama are the tax they pay.
Will the Warriors have that Green this season? The team can’t afford to wait around to find out.
