Draymond makes ‘honest’ admission about playing center for Warriors

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Draymond makes ‘honest’ admission about playing center for Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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.

“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.

“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

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 29, 2024

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…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/draymond-makes-honest-admission-playing-071701636.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-12-29 07:17:00

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