Bob Myers: One Reason Draymond Wasn't Great Defender in College

After recording his first triple-double of the season on Tuesday night and coming up with the game-sealing steal, Draymond Green told reporters that he wasn't a great on-the-ball defender in college and developed a love for it in the NBA.

On Wednesday afternoon, CSN Bay Area's Greg Papa asked Warriors general manager Bob Myers on 95.7 The Game if in fact Draymond was not a great defensive player at Michigan State.

"No he wasn't," Myers declared. "He wasn't in shape. He was smart enough to do it. His first summer league practice when we drafted him, I remember the coaches telling me he's like a 10-year vet as far as picking up the schemes ... physically, he wasn't there.

"He wasn't in shape. He was carrying 15-20 pounds of weight. And he's not this elite athlete anyway. He's a very good athlete, great hands -- some of the best hands in the league -- but you can't carry that around. In college, you get away with it but in the pros it was catching up to him."

[POOLE: Draymond records triple-double, but only cares about game-sealing steal]

Myers then shed some light on the exit interview he had with Draymond at the conclusion of Draymond's rookie season.

"He asked me, which is a credit to him again, 'What do you think I need to do?' And I said, 'I don't understand Draymond, you guys -- not just you -- but athletes get paid millions of dollars, and it's offensive to not be in shape. Let there be another reason why you can't play, let there be something else. Not being in shape can't be your reason for not succeeding. It can be any other reason. That's a baseline for success in athletics is being in shape.'

"The best thing he did was he just said, 'All right.' And when he came back the next year, totally different body. Completely different body. Changed everything -- body fat, body composition, strength, agility, speed -- and he kind of took off from there.

"A lot of guys will say, 'What can I do?' And then you tell them, and they walk out the door and they don't do anything."

Draymond averaged 2.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists over 13.4 minutes per game as a rookie.

Those numbers increased to 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.9 minutes per contest in Year 2.

Under new head coach Steve Kerr in 2014-15, Draymond started all 79 games and racked up averages of 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

"Draymond figured out how best to help his team, because in his whole life the thing he's done best is win," Myers said. "So he figured out pretty quick: 'What does this team need me to be because I want to win, I want to win championships ... I want it to be my legacy.'

"It all comes down to one thing -- it's winning. I remember the guy (Troy) Polamalu on the Steelers. How is this guy involved in every single big play that matters? Ronnie Lott. There's guys that just all the time ... he's a menace to the opposition.

"The opponent doesn't like him because when it's down to that one possession and he's involved, he wins that possession usually."
 

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