Throughout the 2024-25 NBA season, Warriors veteran Draymond Green has done whatever it takes to help young forward Jonathan Kuminga develop into a star -- even if that means playing a position he loves to hate.
Primarily a power forward, Green is prepared to record more minutes than usual at center this year as Kuminga plays his way toward more time in coach Steve Kerr's rotation. While not ideal for Green, he begrudgingly accepts the assignment because he knows it's good for Golden State.
"We got to do what we got to do to win games, whatever that looks like," Green told reporters Saturday after the Warriors' 109-105 win over the Phoenix Suns. "For me coming into the season, I'll be honest -- I didn't want to play a ton of 5. It's hard. And [me not playing the 5] was working. We were 12-3 or whatever we were, and it was working.
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"But [when] it's not working, you have to look at what works. And if that's me at the 5, like I said, I don't love it for entire games at this point. But I love to win, and more importantly, I hate to lose. So if that's what it looks like, that's what it looks like. We got to win games, or I told the guys we're all going to get traded out of here, so we better win some games."
Draymond Green knows he’ll likely have to play more center than he’d like to fit Jonathan Kuminga in more lineups.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 29, 2024
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to play a ton of five. It’s hard…I don’t love it for entire games at this point. But I love to win.” pic.twitter.com/jC4DJcZ2rK
One night after Kuminga scored a career-high 34 points in the Warriors' loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, he matched that mark against the Suns and helped Golden State snap a three-game losing streak. Green at the 5 allows Kuminga to play more freely as a power forward, and the 22-year-old certainly can use all the freedom he can get as Golden State awaits his transformation into a bonafide difference-maker.
It's clear Green is willing to do whatever it takes for that to happen.
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This isn't the first time the vet has put his feelings aside so that Kuminga can thrive. Before Kerr decided Kuminga might be better suited in his usual bench role -- he came out with the Warriors' second unit both Friday and Saturday -- Green accepted a demotion of his own earlier this month so that his younger teammate could roll with the starting five.
“Of course I’m OK with it,” Green said at the time. “I’ve been one of JK’s biggest fans since he’s been here. If he has an opportunity to start, you can’t be hypocritical. … I’m a fan of his, I want to see him do well. If his opportunity goes through me, it is what it is. That’s his opportunity and he earned that opportunity."
Kuminga's time certainly appears to be here now, whether that's off the bench or in a starting role. Either way, Green has his back -- and, when needed, the 5.