Steve Kerr talks Draymond Green re-signing, previews Team USA

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a rare unqualified plea for his team to get Draymond Green re-signed this summer. So the four-time-champion coach was effusive in praising the team forkeeping Green on a four-year, $100 million deal agreed to earlier this month.

"We're really excited to have Draymond back," Kerr said Friday while speaking to reporters about Team USA, which he will coach in the FIBA World Cup this summer. "He's been such a huge part of this decade run and, as he showed this past year, he still has plenty left in the tank."

After the Warriors lost a grueling series to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs, Kerr made it clear that keeping Green, an unrestricted free agent, was his absolute priority.

"If Draymond is not back, we're not a championship contender," Kerr said in May.

New Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy agreed and traded away Jordan Poole for Chris Paul and his expiring contract last month, clearing out future space on the balance sheet for a new Green contract.

Green worked with the Warriors in the end, opting out of his previous deal for $27.5 million and agreeing to a pay cut for the upcoming season with more years guaranteed on the back end.

"Given that he plays so well withSteph [Curry]and Klay [Thompson], it was really a no-brainer to try to bring him back," Kerr said Friday. "And so I'm glad that it all checked out and it all worked out."

Kerr, when speaking about Team USA, said he will use the August training camp and five exhibition games to work on his lineup before the U.S. opens World Cup play Aug. 26 against New Zealand in Manila, Philippines. But he noted that New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who has a strong history in FIBA play, is expected to play a big role, along with defensive specialist Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets.

Kerr said Memphis Grizzlies centerJaren Jackson Jr., the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to be an anchor, especially because there is no defensive 3-second rule in FIBA play.

USA Basketball executive director Grant Hill declined to elaborate on why Grizzlies star Ja Morant was not included on the World Cup roster. At one point, Morant was considered a strong candidate to be a headliner of the team. He has since been suspended twice by the NBA --including for the first 25 games of the upcoming season--because of conduct detrimental to the league, after he was seen holding a firearm in videos posted to social media.

It is unclear if not being on the team was a USA Basketball choice or Morant's choice.

"We all are fans of Ja Morant and he's an incredibly talented player ... one of the young faces of the league," Hill said. "It's been a challenging season, challenging year for him. I think I can say we all are rooting for him and hope that he can put this behind and have the great success we all hope that he can have. I don't want to necessarily, not just because it's Ja, but just in general, I don't want to talk about discussions I may have had with other people through this process."