Steve Kerr laughs off lipreading criticism of Draymond Green

FILE – Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, right, yells at referee during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Monday laughed off suggestions of a rift with Draymond Green in the wake of the NBA champions’ shock loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Video of Kerr appearing to criticize Green went viral on social media on Sunday after the Warriors slumped to a 115-111 loss to the Suns, who are bottom of the Western Conference with 16 wins and 52 defeats.

Although there was no audio of Kerr’s remarks, lipreaders said the Warriors coach had been caught wearily telling an assistant he was “so tired of Draymond’s shit.”

Asked on Monday if he had spoken to Green following his reported remarks, Kerr said: “That’s private.”

Pressed on whether his remarks were accurately interpreted his comments, Kerr added: “No. The lipreaders are wrong.

“What I said was ‘I beg to differ with Draymond’s approach tonight.’ Those were my exact words. I don’t know how somebody misconstrued that.”

Kerr’s light-hearted acknowledgement of the incident highlighted the unrelenting spotlight on players and coaches in the modern NBA.

“George Orwell was right,” Kerr reflected. “He just had the year wrong. He wrote 1984. The title should have been 2012 or something. It’s modern life. Everything is recorded. Everything is filmed.”