In episode 46 of The Draymond Green Show, recorded from a beachside spot in Cabo, Draymond Green reflects on the NBA Summer League he just attended. He explains why the league matters for young prospects, veterans trying to revive careers, and overseas scouts, noting its growth from a handful of teams to essentially every NBA franchise fielding a squad. He discusses the Warriors’ Summer League rematch against the Celtics, emphasizing the psychological weight of the recent NBA Finals and how that influenced the younger players’ mindset. Draymond offers detailed observations on three Warriors prospects: Jonathan Kuminga, who appeared disengaged in his first game but rebounded with strong performances; Moses Moody, praised for his veteran‑like discipline and on‑court communication; and James Wiseman, returning to competitive basketball after a four‑year hiatus, with Draymond highlighting the importance of timing in rebounding rather than just size. Throughout, he intersperses personal anecdotes, critiques of media narratives, and coaching insights, urging listeners to appreciate the deeper context behind Summer League games.
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What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to The Volume's YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. What's up everybody? Welcome back to The Draymond Green Show. This is our 46th episode. And even though all the big time NBA news has died down, like I told y'all, y'all gonna get this podcast in a tank top, just leaving the beach, in Cabo. So by the way, if my Wi-Fi is a little spotty, I'm actually sitting on the 5th hole. I mean, I'm looking at the tee box of the 5th hole of this golf course, and I'm also looking at the ocean. So as you know, I take my appearance seriously on these things, but this is what y'all getting from me today because I'm enjoying the beach. But I still want to come talk to our loyal supporters. Our listeners, those that we appreciate, I'm giving you this podcast. So first up, I just left Summer League. I came here from Summer League, which was great. Summer League, it's always cool to get back and you get to Summer League and you see the young guys and the energy there, it's just, it's amazing. And you get the opportunity to see the young guys and also guys who's trying to resurrect their career. My fiancée Hazel, she was asking me the other day, she was like, "What's the point of Summer League?" And so I start breaking down all of these things. So it was actually last night, I start breaking down, you know, it's an opportunity for younger guys to get reps. It's an opportunity for guys, you know, to play and overseas scouts are watching. It's an opportunity for guys to play who's been in the league and trying to work themselves back. Yeah. And I went through all of these things and it was funny because then we were watching the telecast on ESPN and they asked the same question, like, "What do you get out of summer league?" And JJ Redick started answering and he was answering it the same way I was answering it. She was like, "Oh, you do know what you're talking about." And I'm like, "I think I know what I'm talking about a little bit." But no, I mean, The way Summer League, I mean, from where it was and where it started to where it's grown is absolutely insane, what the NBA has done with the NBA Summer League. I remember even when I was playing 9 years ago, there maybe was 20 teams that had a Summer League team. Like, every team in the NBA didn't have a Summer League team. And like, now every team has a Summer League team. I'm not sure if it's actually a requirement or not in the CBA. I probably should know that. But it's, it operate, I mean, it lives as if it is a requirement nowadays. And you know, it's something that, you know, you see all the older guys come back, which is always a fun time. And I think it's a fun time for us because like, you remember what that grind was like, like 2.5 weeks in Vegas. You know, you got people cycling in, cycling out, guys fighting for their careers. Like, you remember that grind, you remember that hustle, so it's always good to get back. And then, who's upset about a couple days in Vegas? I don't think anyone's arguing about a couple days in Vegas, so that's always fun. And like I said before, you know, like, we got a chance to see Paolo Banchero play, which, by the way, we'll get into Paolo in a minute, but, you know, you get a chance to see these matchups, and— Yeah. Last night we saw a rematch of the finals with the Warriors and Celtics. And ironically, and speaking of that game, I'm watching that game and the Celtics guys played like a team that had just lost in the NBA finals. And the Warriors played like a team that just had won the NBA finals. And it was very interesting to see because you have to understand the psychology behind it. There are a lot of—— a few guys on that Boston Celtics team that was in the NBA Finals, didn't play much, but then you also have, obviously, guys on our team that was in the NBA Finals, but the coaching staffs are obviously coaches who just coached in the NBA Finals. And I knew going into that game that our guys wouldn't understand that like, no, this is like, this game is going to be different than any summer league game because you just beat them in the NBA Finals. And they're gonna carry that. And, you know, I think guys on our team, younger guys on our team, not Moses, not JK or Wiseman, or Wiseman a little bit actually, but like Jordan Poole, they actually had the opportunity to see 2 years ago when we sucked and we won 15 games. How teams were treating them as if they were still the same Warriors that had been beating the mess out of teams for 5 years in a row. And no matter, I mean, you should have saw some of the lineups we were putting out there on the court that year. No matter who was in that lineup, you had on a Warrior jersey, people were trying to destroy you. And guys on our team didn't understand it. And I just used to go into those games laughing, like, or I would see something going on and I would just laugh. 'Cause I'm like, Yo, y'all getting punished for what we've did to these teams, done to these teams for the last 5 years. And that's kind of what happened to the Summer League team last night. It's like they got punished last night by the Celtics because of what we did to the Celtics a few weeks ago in the Finals. And I think it's important for people to try to understand those games within the game. Like, I think you'll have so much more fun and enjoyment, you'll get so much more enjoyment outta watching these games if you can try to further understand these games within the game. And I mean, quite frankly, I guess some of 'em you can't really fill it out if you haven't done it. But like things like this, like I'm telling you this now, so now you can like look forward to things and don't get it twisted. Most of the time, if you ask a player, they're gonna be like, "Oh nah, no big deal." Like— Nah. "it's just a game like any other game." No, I'm here to tell you that's garbage. And players will always downplay it. Most guys will downplay it and be like, "Oh yeah, no, it's just another game on a Sunday night," or whatever. And like, games really do be meaning more. Like, you know, you get the whole cliché of like, "Play every game the same." You know, your coaches tell you like, "You gotta play every game like it's your last." Them things are, that's a cliché. And the Celtics showed that it was a cliché last night when they destroyed our summer league team. But, 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 OGs 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. 'Cause if you got the pop, there's no one in this, in the summer league that can touch you. And it's 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, like. And so I was very disappointed in J.K.'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, you know, while there's a belief that, you know, 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. Mm-hmm. And so I'm looking forward to him getting that opportunity. 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 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 tray and he started talking to Mo. Mm-hmm. 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 to Moses, says something back, 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. Mm-hmm. And that is James Wiseman really haven't played basketball since like 2018. 'Cause if you think about it, he played what, 6, 4 games his 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 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. Mm-hmm. 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." Like, don't get me wrong, like, that's the first thing I looked at too. Like, "Wise, you can't have 2 rebounds." For those of you out there who's just gonna criticize and don't know, I saw the guy from the Rattle, Draymond Rattle Show in the Bay, I think, or something like that. Dude, Draymond, 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. You know, 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% a timing thing, like. 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. 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 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. Happy to have you back. Doing your thing.
