According to NBA reporter Kendra Andrews of ESPN, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob told Draymond Green to take Jonathan Kuminga under his wing.
“Joe said, ‘I know you’re going to play and lead and all of that, but I need one more thing,’” Green recalled. “He said, ‘I need you to take JK under your wing.’ I said, ‘You got my word.’ To me, that was a condition of the contract.”
Green and Kuminga have a close relationship. The Warriors drafted Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, a move Green told Golden State to make.
“You knew the gift was there,” Green said of Kuminga. “He would just need a few years. And for me, having Jarrett Jack telling me he’s good, that means a lot.”
Kuminga is averaging 16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season while shooting 53.0% from the field, 32.4% from beyond the arc and 74.3% from the free-throw line.
Several teams were interested in acquiring Kuminga at this year’s trade deadline, but the Warriors made the talented swingman untouchable.
“He can always jump and get himself out of trouble,” Green said of his advice to Kuminga. “Nobody else is going to be up there with you. Most of us, we’ve got to find angles, and different things to score, but if you get in trouble with anything, just jump.”
The Warriors are 35-31 on the season. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings.
NBA reporters Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported in January that Kuminga had “lost faith” in Warriors head coach Steve Kerr after sitting for the final 18 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on January 4. However, Kuminga’s minutes and role have increased since then.
“When you get to know someone better, there’s a natural level of trust built in,” Kerr told ESPN about his relationship with Kuminga.
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