The Warriors’ indefinite ban of Draymond Green may have been the best development of the season.

It also may have been the nicest thing that ever happened to Green, in a strange manner.

The forward’s absence has compєlled Dubs coach Steve Kerr to trust and use his young players, who have responded with good play and upbeat attitude.

It wasn’t a fluke that the Celtics lost. It also can’t be ignored to stick with Denver for all except the last few minutes (blame the altitude, the refs, etc.). The Warriors won five of their seven games without Green, including five straight before Christmas, with Jonathan Kuminga serving as the team’s offєnsive focal point, starting player Brandin Podziemski, and center of choice Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Golden State is a tiny, shrewd, and tenacious club that has found its identity thanks to the youthful Warriors.

It’s similar to the atmosphere the Warriors experienced at the conclusion of the 2020–2021 campaign.

This time, they’ve discovered their finest form before the calendar turns to a new year, as opposed to discovering it in the last 20 games.

Without Green, the Warriors have not only looked terrific, but even better.

However, that naturally begs some unpleasant concerns prior to Green’s comeback to the starting lineup.

The beauty of being “indefinitely” suspended means that nobody can predict when Green will return, but as of right now, NBA sources predict he will return in about a week, extending his ban to 12 or 13 games.

It’s reasonable to ask how Green will fit into the lineup if the Warriors continue to win between now and then.

God forbid the Warriors ruin something nice.

However, I believe that Green’s court-mandated quest to do the same will benefit the forward if the Warriors find themselves in the middle of it.

When he comes back, nothing should be given to Green. He will need to regain his minutes.

And Green is a winner for the Warriors and himself in less minutes and a more defined role.

The Warriors kept looking to Green and the other experienced Warriors players to solve their team’s troubles at the beginning of the season. Too much playing time was spent on too little productive play as a result.

Is the offєnsive unable to quit giving up turnovers? The de facto point guard, Draymond, was called in to rectify things.

Is a sieve used as defense? It will be cleared up by one of the best defenders of all time, right?

False.

To be honest, though, Green may not be able to accomplish such things these days.

The forward shouldn’t be held accountable for the Warriors’ success, but he can still contribute to their victory.

There is a distinction.

And Green ought to find out what it is when he gets back.

Serving a suspension has proven to be a beneficial turn of events for both the Warriors and Draymond Green himself

What the Warriors are developing without Green should be preserved if Green returns as a role player, someone who must fit the lineup rather than being a mainstay.

In the games this season that he wasn’t sent off from, Green was playing an average of about thirty minutes each.

Cutting five or ten minutes is not that long. You can’t claim that other people don’t deserve the minutes he would lose.

Green would only be the most recent of the Warriors’ seasoned players to step away this year. This season, Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins have both came off the bench. A Warriors mainstay for the past five years, Kevon Looney is playing fewer and fewer minutes due to Jackson-Davis and Dario Šarić’s superior play.

Green deserves his number in the rafters, a statue outside of Chase Center, and, I think, a jacket from the Basketball Hall of Famє.

However, given his play thus far in his career, he isn’t entitled to minutes that could be given to a player who is deserving of them.

Less might be more for Green.

His greatest ball might emerge in a smaller role with fewer center minutes.

In around a week, the Warriors should have a good problem if they can continue to play at their present caliber.

Perhaps this fake suspension and “return to play path” could lead to something real and constructive after all.