Draymond Green

Draymond Green Ordered To Mentor Jonathan Kuminga

When Draymond Green signed the four-year, $100 million extension with the Golden State Warriors, there was an unwritten condition within the contract Golden State wanted Green to adhere to.

Owner Joe Lacob asked the 34-year-old veteran to mentor Jonathan Kuminga. Lacob wanted the 21-year-old to learn from the team’s veterans but wanted to take it a step further by having Green personally work with Kuminga.

“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.”

According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, when Green was suspended, he watched film on Kuminga and solely focused on his game. Something Green noticed was that he was not attacking defenses by using his speed and athleticism on drives to the paint.

“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.”

Kuminga is having a career year with 16.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 65 games.