This has been a complicated season for the Golden State Warriors. The team started off the season with NBA championship aspirations, and they’re not even a lock to make the playoffs.
Notably, Steve Kerr was under heavy fire for his reluctance to switch up his rotations and give younger players a longer leash, especially with some of the veterans struggling so badly.
That’s no longer the case, which is why Draymond Green stepped up to defend his coach, stating that as much as Jonathan Kuminga has taken a huge leap this season, he needed to put in some more work before being ready to contribute.
Draymond Green Defends Steve Kerr
“I think [Kerr] gets a lot of criticism for, ‘Oh, he’s not playing young guys,’ ” Draymond told The Athletic. “But would JK [Jonathan Kuminga] have been as ready as he is now a year ago? I personally don’t think so. I think we all believed in what JK could become. But you almost do JK a disservice by not giving him credit [for] the work he put in to become the player that he’s become this year.”
Steve Kerr
Green also pointed out that the coach made the necessary adjustments and gave younger players more minutes when the team needed it, so it was unfair to call him out for that earlier in the season:
“I think Steve has caught a lot of unfair criticism about playing young guys when number one, you haven’t had to or needed to, but as soon as you’ve needed to, you’re doing it. And you’ve made that adjustment, and look at what it’s done for us this season,“ Green continued.
Good coaches can make mistakes, but it takes a great coach to own them and adjust. The Warriors still aren’t the same contending team they used to be, but they’re finally trending in the right direction.
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