Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green Shows Love To Jonathan Kuminga And Buddy Hield Following Their Trade To Hawks

8 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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1:27

In this YouTube monologue, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green reflects on the recent trade that sent Jonathan Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks and Buddy Hield to an unspecified destination. Green explains the typical expectations for a No. 7 draft pick—being placed on a rebuilding team where they can develop through mistakes—and praises Kuminga for handling that situation with maturity, even as rumors of a trade grew. He wishes Kuminga success in Atlanta, envisioning him becoming a cornerstone alongside fellow young player Jalen Johnson. Green then shifts to Buddy Hield, describing him as one of his favorite teammates whose consistent attitude and work ethic left a lasting impact on the locker room. He emphasizes that a player's legacy isn’t solely measured by championships, noting Hield’s lasting brotherhood and expressing gratitude for their shared time.

Chapters

When you're the 7th pick in the NBA draft, you usually go to a place where they're gonna give you the ball, they're gonna allow you to make a ton of mistakes, and you grow through those mistakes in hopes that you become a key cornerstone franchise piece to the rebuild of the team that drafted you with the 7th pick. You're usually not drafted to a team that's good enough to compete and win a championship that year. That's the hand Jonathan Kuminga was dealt. And so I appreciate the way he handled it, the maturity that he showed. And handling the situation the entire time. Even when the writing was on the wall and we, everybody in the world kind of knew a trade is gonna happen. I wish him well on the journey to Atlanta, that he can go thrive, that he can go become a cornerstone of that franchise with Jalen Johnson. Those two guys running down at you in transition, good luck. Buddy Hill is one of my favorite teammates of all time. To see him go, you feel the gap, you feel the hole. You're talking about a guy that no matter what, no matter what the playing time was, no matter if he hit 7 threes in the game or missed and went 0 for 7, attitude's the same. You get in your circle after starting lineup, you do your thing, hard things, Buddy Hill's dance. Buddy Hill left a mark. Everybody won't always leave their mark by way of 4 championships or 2 champ— that's not always the hand that's dealt. And that's how when you leave a place, you make sure you can always go back to that place. So I'm forever grateful to be his teammate. The brotherhood don't stop. Woo!