Kerr settles Draymond beef: 'Not my finest hour'

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a fairly remarkable 15-minute media session Wednesday, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr both took responsibility for his argument with Draymond Green that caused the forward to leave the bench in the middle of a timeout during the third quarter of Monday's win against the Orlando Magic and said his goal remains for Green to retire as a Warrior. "Monday night was not my finest hour and that was a time I needed to be calm in the huddle," Kerr said after Golden State's practice here at Chase Center Wednesday afternoon, about 24 hours before the Warriors will take on the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day. "I regret my actions in that exchange. I apologized to [Green], he apologized to me. We both apologized to the team. "These things, they happen -- especially when you get two incredibly competitive people like Dray and me. So, over the 12 years we've been together, this has happened occasionally and I'm not proud of it." After much of the discussion following Monday's win over the Magic revolved around Green's decision to leave the bench and retreat to the locker room following his argument on the bench with Kerr , only to eventually return to the bench and sit there for the fourth quarter as Golden State moved back to .500 with a win, Wednesday was clearly about Kerr trying to move the franchise forward from the incident. He spent most of his time on the podium reflecting on his partnership with Green, which dates back to when Kerr took over as head coach in 2014, and even said several times how similar the two men are. "There's a long history of that here because we understand each other and I understand his power. There are four banners out there and obviously a lot of people played important roles in that, but I've said this before and I truly believe it: I don't think we have any without him," Kerr said. "That's how much he impacts winning. So his ability to channel that passion, that emotion, that raw rage that he has is a key component to what makes us successful. And what I said about the other night, I didn't channel my own raw emotion and rage, of which there is plenty. "We are far more alike than anyone would ever realize. So yeah, this is not totally uncommon. I would say this hasn't happened in a few years, this kind of a divide and a blow up, but in our 12 years together, it's not the first time. And we've always, always found a way to not only bounce back, but to make strides as a result." He also repeatedly stated his desire for Green to finish his career with the Warriors -- in a way that Klay Thompson , for example, who will be playing on the Mavericks Thursday, obviously did not. "We had a great chat," Kerr said. "I care so much about Draymond and the...

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