What’s wrong with Draymond Green? What’s happened to his game? What’s happened to his sense of humor? What’s happened to his place in the hearts of Warriors fans?

I have a theory, which involves the Big Sabbatical.

Let’s go back to the Warriors’ locker room after Game 6 of last season’s NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Head coach Steve Kerr is chatting with league Commissioner Adam Silver. Kerr surveys his Warriors, pounded to nubs by five glorious but grinding seasons.

“Maybe we could just go on a sabbatical,” Kerr says to Silver. “Go to Italy, ride bikes and sip wine.”

And so they did! Most of the Warriors did, anyway. Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Kevon Looney, they all took a powder. The case could be made that even Kerr got a break this season, an escape from the relentless pressure to keep the Warriors on top.

The boys all left for their virtual Italy, and who was left behind to mow the lawn?

Reading Green’s mind (a skill we learn in journalism school), I see a thought balloon over his head:

Where’s MY sabbatical?

The Warriors’ medical staff has exercised extreme caution with Curry’s hand injury. Meanwhile, Green was dealing with injuries to a finger, a heel, an ankle, his lower back, his pelvis, and now his left knee.

I am not saying Green was resentful of the kid-gloves treatment accorded Curry, or of the Warriors keeping Thompson out the entire season. But as the losses mounted and critical fingers pointed at Green, he might have wanted to say, Folks, I’m playing.

The Golden State player who took the greatest physical pounding over the past five seasons, who expended the most emotional energy, was the one who got left off the traveling squad to Italy.

Green’s frustration seemed to boil over in a game against the Lakers on Feb. 27. He was slapped with back-to-back technical fouls in the second quarter, basically throwing himself out of the game by haranguing the refs until they had to give him the heave-ho.

On the TNT telecast, Charles Barkley, a longtime critic of Green, blasted him for deserting his teammates, leaving them leaderless against the mighty Lakers, who took instant advantage.

Another member of the telecast crew noted that as Green walked past the Warriors’ bench, Kerr and his assistants looked down at their clipboards. No consoling hand slaps for Draymond.

After the lopsided loss, Kerr was asked about Green’s ejection and said, “We needed him in the second half. We missed him out there.”

For Kerr, that was a not-subtle departure from his custom of stoutly defending Green against critics who say his temper and technical fouls sometimes hurt the Warriors.

The numbers say this season has been a struggle. The numbers don’t tell the whole story, but: He has two triple-doubles, but none since Dec. 11. His rebounds are down from 7.3 per game to 6.2. He shot 44.5% from the field last season, he’s at 38.9%. His 3-point shooting percentage is on a four-season decline, from 38.8 to the current 27.9. His name does not come up in discussions of the All-Defensive team.

Green is beat up. Injuries have kept him out of 21 games, including the past five. At his best, Green is the Warriors’ Muhammad Ali, talking the talk and backing it up. These days, Green is more like Scrap Iron Johnson, an oft-battered journeyman heavyweight in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

Green met with the media after practice Friday. The session ended with this brief exchange with me.

With the team’s other two stars out, has it been a burden for you to carry the team? Some fans are kind of putting the blame on you.

Green: “No. I don’t give a damn what the fans think, who they put the blame on. A lot of people can’t even talk to me about basketball. (They’re) not smart enough.”

These are many of the same fans who were in your corner before.

Green: “My family love me.”

Do you pay any attention to the chatter. Obviously, there’s Barkley, but beyond that ...

Green: “No, Barkley should stop before I go take his job, though. I can do that well, too. He already didn’t make enough playing so he need that job. He should stop talking about me. I have a tendency to end people. He should stop before I take his job.”

Not soon, though.

Green: “If he keep talking, then I’ll take it soon. Sooner than he thinks. He probably should be gone. He also can’t talk basketball to me, either. Not smart enough, not qualified. No rings.”

Clearly, Green does not shrug off criticism. It rankles. Especially Barkley’s ongoing blasts, which are puzzling. I agree with Barkley that Green deserted his team against the Lakers, but Barkley has been chirping at Green for years. Seemingly, these two should be soulmates. They share a rare spirit and passion for the game, and a rare gift for taking fans inside the game with their words.

Green has too much on his plate these days to dwell on Barkley. Green has another 18 games to help mold his teammates into useful parts for next season’s Grand Revival.

Friday’s blast at Barkley aside, Green said he’s not feeling sorry for himself.

“I’m fine,” he said Friday. “My life is pretty damn good.”

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler