Draymond accepts Warriors bench role to get the most out of Kuminga originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – With Steph Curry and Draymond Green out due to injuries Thursday night against the Houston Rockets, Jonathan Kuminga started for just the sixth time this season, and the 22-year-old was cleared to take off, leading the Warriors to a gritty victory to snapping their five-game losing streak behind a career-high 33 points.
Curry and Green were considered good to go on the second night of a back-to-back. Curry was, of course, the Warriors’ starting point guard, but there was a big change in Steve Kerr’s starting five on the floor in Golden State’s 107-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kuminga was in the starting line-up. That wasn’t green.
The change is here to stay, at least for now.
“I want to look at it,” Kerr said. “We’re trying to maximize Jonathan. Play with him [Andrew Wiggins]to play [Kevon Looney] to start that group means Draymond doesn’t have to guard the opponent’s center from the start, which I think is important, and we can finish with Draymond at the five.
“So in theory I like how it looks. We have to play better. We have to make better decisions.”
However, obstacles could get in the way of Kerr’s plan. Andrew Wiggins left Friday night’s loss early due to a right ankle impingement, and Moses Moody also left early due to left knee soreness.
However, the whole idea of Green coming off the bench is all about Kuminga. After experimenting with him at small forward to start the season, Kerr is adamant that Kuminga is a four and not a three, and he doesn’t want to play him next to two non-shooting big men.
In this case, that means not sharing the floor with Green and Looney at the same time.
“We’re trying to get the most out of Jonathan’s ability to go downhill, to give him more time,” Kerr explained. “He and Wiggs last night were fantastic. We’re looking for ways to get those guys more involved and not tire Draymond and Steph.
“That’s kind of the trick. And then find combinations within that as the game goes on.
The real question is: how does Green feel about this move?
He previously came off the bench when he returned from injury. This step would be different. It would clear a path for a player much younger than him. Not a complete passing of the torch, but a change in that direction.
Green says he feels great physically after missing his first game of the season due to soreness in his left calf. Mentally, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the Warriors, losers of six of their last seven games after starting the season 12-3, back on track.
Kerr called Green and told him the decision was something he had thought about and that he wanted to make sure he was okay with it.
“Of course I’m fine with that,” Green said. “I’ve been one of JK’s biggest fans since he got here. If he gets the chance to start, you can’t be a hypocrite. … I’m a fan of his, I want him to do well. If his opportunity goes through me, it is what it is. That’s his chance and he has earned that chance.
“That’s kind of how I look at it. That was my reasoning. He played really well last night.”
The four-time champion, who is in Year 13, hinted at his own path to the starting lineup in Kerr’s first year as head coach of the Warriors.
“I am a product of my vet being willing to take a backseat for me,” Green said. ‘You have to give back what came to you. That’s what this is about.”
David Lee was an NBA All-Star for the Warriors in the 2012–13 season and averaged 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game the following year. But the door opened for a much younger Green who skipped Lee because he was a much better fit for Kerr’s system, and this move was a key factor in the Warriors winning their first championship in 40 years.
Except the reason Green even became a starter was because of a hamstring injury to Lee, who was Wally Pipp by the future Hall of Famer.
“I don’t necessarily look at it as this relegation,” Green said. “I’m a starter in the NBA, I know that. I don’t look at it that way. But if it’s anything to help this team win, I’ll always be there for it. I hate losing. If you have something that’s going to help this team win, you’re not going to get a fight from me.
When asked if he would take a backseat and come off the bench earlier in his career, Green replied emphatically, “No, not a chance.” Since training camp, he has also spoken about his responsibility to see the Warriors thrive well beyond his playing days.
Kuminga still has years and years and years left in his career, barring injuries. Green has no plans to loosen his Nikes tomorrow, but time is much more on the side of someone 12 years his junior.
“I care about this organization, and I know a lot of people in this organization, including myself, think he’s next,” Green said. “If he’s next, we’ll have to see at some point. To do that, he needs the opportunity. Like I said, if the opportunity falls on you because I am, then that is what it is and you have to find out.
“He has earned the right to have that opportunity. When I come back here in ten years and I’m even grayer than I am now, I want to see this franchise flourish. If he’s the guy to do that, and I think he’s more than capable of doing that, then that’s perfect.”
Egos must be left out of the arena. The Warriors have learned that over the past two years following their 2022 championship. Green and Curry are desperate to get back to the mountaintop. If that means the ultimate sacrifice, then so be it.
Maybe it’s one game. Maybe there are two. Maybe there are three, and maybe it will take months.
Regardless of how things turn out, Curry praises his old teammate’s selflessness and sends a message to the rest of the team.
“First of all, it shows professionalism,” Curry said. “It shows his commitment to us figuring out what rotations work, what lineups work, what the flow should be. … We have to be able to sacrifice ourselves for the group. It’s, again, the DNA of this team right now. Until we find out who we really are, who knows what it will look like.”
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