In this monologue, Draymond Green offers a candid assessment of the Golden State Warriors' Summer League performances, focusing on four key players. He praises Paolo Banchero for his non‑scoring contributions—defensive intensity, playmaking, and leadership—that he believes signal a future star, and urges the Orlando Magic to be ready for his impact. Green critiques Jonathan Kuminga’s rough debut, describing it as disengaged, but highlights his rapid bounce‑back with a 29‑point game, reaffirming his high draft status. He lauds Moses Moody as an "old soul" who displays veteran‑like discipline, communication, and consistent effort. Finally, Green defends James Wiseman’s limited rebounding numbers, explaining that rebounding is fundamentally about timing, especially after a four‑year hiatus from competitive play, and calls for patience and respect for his progress. Throughout, Green challenges media narratives that blame players alone, emphasizing organizational responsibility and the importance of evaluating players beyond surface stats.
Chapters
Paulo Banchero, I think, is one of them ones. And the reason I think Paulo is one of them guys is because of the things that he did on the basketball court that were not scoring. You get out here in summer league, guys score the basketball. It's gonna happen. It is what it is. You're gonna get every opportunity because if you got drafted, especially first round pick, they're featuring you and trying to make you score 'cause they wanna look good for drafting you. Paulo game was a little bit different. Yes, he did all the things with the basketball. Yes, he made the plays. But the plays that he made that did not involve him having the basketball, is why I think Paulo is gonna be one of them guys. Him getting on teammates coming in as a rookie, the winning plays that he was making down the stretch. When's the last time we've seen the Orlando Magic competing to win games like they were competing to win games when Paulo was out there on that court in those first two summer league games? It's been a while. I feel like I always speak about— Draymond Green. People not ever blaming an organization and they always say, "Oh, it's the player fault." And the reality is you see some of these players leave these, some organizations, and they're successful. And I said that to say, I hope that organization is ready for that player. Because that player, is a winner. That player, he cares. I mean, he was out there playing them summer league games like he was playing the NBA Finals with that type of intensity. That is a winner right before your eyes. And I hope that that organization is ready for that player. I don't think that organization has seen that player in a long time. I think they're looking dead at him. Mm-hmm. And the reality is, if it doesn't work, everyone's gonna say, Paulo, he failed, he wasn't this, he wasn't that. And I'm not saying if it doesn't, it's not Paulo's fault. I'm just saying it's never told the opposite way. And so I'm going to say before we even get to that point, I hope that organization is ready for that guy. 'Cause that kid is special. I said it when he was at Duke. I saw it, I watched it. That kid is— And by the way, I watched him play one time at Duke. That kid is special. He has that it, like he want it. And you just don't see that much in the NBA anymore, especially with these young guys coming up. So, I'm looking forward to watching his career grow and blossom. I was actually happy to see him get shut down in the Summer League. I thought enough had been seen and we all knew, like, we know, we saw what we needed to see. Paulo got it. And I'm looking forward to watching him. And speaking of our Summer League team, and I'm gonna say this publicly because I said it to his face. I thought Jonathan Kaminga was so, so, so bad in the game that I went to. They were playing the New York Knicks. I thought he was very, very, very bad. He didn't look engaged to me. And I was disappointed because the reason I was disappointed was because when my OGs came to see me play in summer league, I'm bouncing off the wall. Like, your OG's there. Like, you wanna destroy whoever in front of you. Because your OGs are sitting there. And it just didn't feel like he had the pop. Like, 'cause if you got the pop, there's no one in this Summer League that can touch you. And then sure enough, he bounced back the next game and he shows that. Like, yeah, if I got the pop, there's nobody in the Summer League that can guard me. And then he bounced back the next game and he shows it again with 29. Yeah. Like, And so I was very disappointed in JK's first game. His next two, he showed why he's the number 7 pick in the draft. He shows why there's so much belief and excitement around him for this organization. And why there's a belief that with the losses in free agency that he'll fill that spot. Going into next year. And I think that's something that, as a 19-year-old, he has to understand. Like, that's a huge role to fill. But ultimately, you're just playing basketball. And you've been doing this your whole life. And so I'm looking forward to him getting that opportunity. And it was great to see how he bounced back in those next couple games. OG Moses Moody, as I like to call him— Moses is an old soul. Moses— Moses Moody. Acts like a 15-year vet in the league. He does absolutely nothing wrong. Moses played incredible. And what I loved about it, there was a guy on New York's team, his last name was Jeffries, and he hit a 3 and he started talking to Mo. And like Moses is one of those guys where Mo not gonna start talking to you, but if you talk, he gonna say something back. And so he hit the 3, he started talking, and Moses said something back, run it down. Run it down. Mo come down, next play, bam, straight ball. "Hey, I'm not the one." And you see Moses yelling to him, "I'm not the one." But Moses has had a very, very, very good summer league. It's great to see his growth. Like I've told y'all, that kid puts in work like not many that I've ever seen before. Just his discipline. Like, that's a skill. And he has that skill. And I think it's absolutely beautiful. We got the big fella back out there, James Wiseman. And I think Wiseman looks very good out there, especially all things being considered. And that is, James Wiseman really haven't played basketball since like 2018. 'Cause if you think about it, he played what, 4 games his rookie year? Year at Memphis and he sat the rest of the year. Played like 20 games his rookie year in the NBA, missed the rest of that year. And then obviously missed all of last year. And now he's just now getting back. So this is really his first basketball since like 2018. And it's at a level that not many people can get accustomed to in years at a time, let alone with the small amount of time that he's had to get accustomed to. And so I thought his showing— Draymond Green. Out there on the court, I thought it's been solid. Are there some things you wanna correct? Absolutely. There's some things you wanna correct about myself on a basketball court. There's things you wanna correct about LeBron James on a basketball court. There's things you wanna correct about Steph Curry. Like, there's always gonna be something you wanna correct with anybody. But I think the things that James Wiseman was able to show in the 2 games that he's played is absolutely remarkable. And just his journey back, just happy to see him out there doing what he loves to do again and having the opportunity. To play basketball. I know there was a lot of talk around the first game, like, "Oh, he had 2 rebounds." Don't get me wrong, that's the first thing I looked at too. Like, why you can't have 2 rebounds? But for those of you out there who's just gonna criticize and don't know, I saw the guy from the Rattle, Damon Rattle Show in the Bay, I think, or something like that. Dude, Damon. Like you come out and you wanna talk about Chet Holmgren is light years ahead of James Wiseman right now, whatever you said, made that statement. Let me help you out. Rebounding is a timing thing. Rebounding is not just I'm tall, I'm long, I can jump, I'm athletic. Rebounding is timing. And for someone that has not played basketball since 2018, I know you wouldn't understand, but your timing is probably messed up. Because that's 4 years and some change of not consistently playing basketball. So those that has done this will understand that that is 100% of time, I think. Like I said, again, I would never excuse James Wiseman having 2 rebounds, nor do I think James Wiseman will excuse it. But I am also, and as someone who's done this at this level, who continues to do this at this level, I do understand that rebounding is, obviously you gotta have a knack for the ball. You gotta do the proper things in boxing out. Coach Izzo, she used to teach us, hit, find, and fetch. Go hit your man, find the ball, then go get it. Yeah. All of those things. And who wants the ball more? It's all of those things. But equally as important, if not the most important, is your timing. You know, you can have a ball right there, like, oh, I got it. And you jump with the wrong, like, your timing. Time is off on your jump, you don't get it. So to try to make it a thing and like compare these two guys after— and this kid's been out for 4 years. Ridiculous. And also, you can't judge who's better off a Summer League game. So let's stop the foolishness. It's ridiculous. Welcome back, James Wiseman. Thank you.
