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Kenny Smith Believes Draymond Green Is The Ingredient To Make A Great Team A Winning Team

Draymond Green has received a lot of flak this year after he experienced a massive decline in terms of production and impact without long-time teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Being the healthiest player among the Warriors’ core, it also didn’t help that Golden State suffered an abysmal season under his wing this year.

But despite anything that happened this season, retired NBA player Kenny Smith still believes that Green is the ingredient to a winning team during an appearance on 95.7 The Game. Smith also implied that Draymond is a type of player that carries a winning personality but may not stand out among the rest. 

As transcribed by NBC Sports Bay Area:

“There are certain guys you could throw in a pickup game, and they’re gonna look great. And there are certain guys — when they’re added to that pickup game — those guys win. Draymond is that guy,” Smith said.

“He might not look good in a pickup game, but you throw him on a team that’s almost winning — they win. He’s that ingredient. I love Draymond Green.”

Kenny Smith does have a point to a certain extent. It’s a tad-bit unfair to hold Green in the same standard of an elite offensive player who could carry the team on any single night when he was cut in same cloth as Shane Battier, Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion and other elite NBA glue guys who were vital to winning but built to play in a more diminished role.

Ultimately, the Warriors could go as far as Curry and Thompson can lead them on offense, but Green is the glue guy that makes the smallest things possible. He may not be impressive in the easy to see areas, but the in-between stuff is where he shines. 

The Warriors forward had a down year this season, averaging just 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game on 38.9% shooting from the field. He also had his worst shooting percentage since his rookie year where he averaged 32.7% field goal percentage.

Unfortunately for the Dubs, the team isn’t going back to the playoffs as they were first team that were eliminated from playoff contention earlier this season. Still, a major comeback seems to await them given the fact that the Warriors would be equipped with a healthy cast next NBA season.