In this monologue, Draymond Green celebrates Darvin Ham’s appointment as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, emphasizing their shared roots in Saginaw, Michigan. Green frames the hiring as a beacon of hope for kids from small towns, arguing that Ham’s success demonstrates that one can reach the NBA’s highest levels without being a star player. He recounts personal experiences attending Ham’s camp and cites other hometown role models (Lamar Woodley, Jason Richardson) that inspired him. Green downplays typical tactical analysis, stating the significance lies in the cultural impact and the message it sends to aspiring coaches. He also briefly predicts Ham will build a strong relationship with Russell Westbrook, trusting Ham’s Saginaw‑hardened problem‑solving mindset. Throughout, Green delivers an enthusiastic, motivational call for Saginaw youth to “dream away” and seize opportunities.
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What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. Before we get outta here, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about my guy, the OG, my aunt, Darvin Ham, getting the Los Angeles Lakers job. Sag nasty, stand up. That one right there made me so proud and happy. Ironically, Darvin was interviewed, if I'm not mistaken, for the Boston job last year. Obviously didn't get it. But to see Darvin Ham, guy from Saginaw, Michigan, went to Saginaw High School, the same place yours truly went. After Darv, obviously. To see him as the head coach of the Lakers, man, that's so much bigger than it may seem to the average basketball fan. The average basketball fan wants to pick apart, "Oh, this guy wasn't a head coach," or he's tough and like he can stand up to Russ and LeBron and like all this nonsense. For me, that means so much more as a kid from Saginaw, who attended the Darvin Ham camp as a kid in hopes that I could one day be Draymond Ham, that I could one day play in the NBA. The head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, a kid from Saginaw? That's groundbreaking, man. That's big time. I think about the kid in Saginaw kids today that's gonna see that and be like, oh, wait a minute. So I can coach too. Like, I actually, I don't have to be a great player. I can focus and possibly become a great coach. Well, why can I do that? How I know I can do that? Because Darvin Ham is doing it. And guess what? He sat in those same seats that you sat in. He sat in the same seat. If I'm that kid, he sat in that same seat that I sat in. So if he can become a head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, I can for sure become a head coach in this league. Why? Again, because Darvin Ham is doing it. And when you come from, and I can only speak for myself in the type of setting I come from, when you come from small places like that, you really grab onto that because ultimately what you're looking for is hope. That's the thing that gets lost when you come from a place like Saginaw and you don't see much outside of that world and you only see what Saginaw has to offer. What you lose first is you lose hope. And what a signing like Darvin Ham, a hiring like Darvin Ham does is it gives that young kid hope. I was once that young kid. When Lamar Woodley made it to the NFL, it gave me hope. When Jason Richardson made it to the NBA, it gave me hope. When Darvin Ham won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons, it gave me hope that I could do that too, because those guys come from the same place I come from. And so for me, this is so much bigger This is so much bigger than some X's and O's or, "Oh man, the Lakers hired another coach." For me, this is everything because again, it gives that little kid in my city a different perspective. That little kid can now say, "Oh, there's a different path for me in it. Yeah, I wanna be in the NBA, but there's a different path I can take." And look, Darvin doing it. So I know there's a different path for me. So for me, it's everything. And I want to say congratulations to Dar. It's incredible coaching the most historic franchise. Jackson would argue you're coaching the most historic franchise in the NBA. Kid from Saginaw, Michigan is coaching the Los Angeles Lakers. It don't get any bigger than that. So for that kid in Saginaw, dream away. Hold on to that hope. Continue to chase that dream. Because as you can see, it is possible for us too. And I know there are times where it don't feel like it's possible. I know there's times where it feel like in Saginaw, that's just all you got. That's all that's gonna be there for you. Dream away, kid. It's right there for you. And as a kid from Saginaw that's done it, I can tell you, dream away, kid. Dream away. Go take it. We cut differently. Nobody gives us anything where we from, but we go take it. So that's how we cut. You have to be in order to survive Saginaw. So again, I say to that kid out there that saw that Darvin Ham got the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Lakers, that kid from Saginaw, dream away. Dream away. Because whatever it is that you want, Just like Darvin Hamm, just like Jason Richardson, like myself, it's right out there for you to go take it. And you got everything in you that you need to go take it. You know why? Because you from Saginaw, Michigan, and that's just how we cut. So Dar, congratulations. I'm happy as hell for you. Thank you. I thank you for continuing to pave the way, continuing to be an example for a young guy from Saginaw. I wish Darv well. I know everybody's talking about, "Oh man, like what's he gonna do with the roster?" And you know, Russell Westbrook and blah, blah, blah. What I know he's going to do is whatever he thinks is absolute best for that team. What I know he's going to do is build a relationship with Russell Westbrook and be able to understand Russell Westbrook and be able to relate to Russell Westbrook. That's what I know he gonna do. Why? Because he from Saginaw and that's what we do. We figure it out. What needs to be done? That's what we gonna do. Bring your hard hat. That's what we do. So yes, he gonna figure it out and I'm looking forward to him figuring it out. You know why? Why? Because he from Saginaw, and that's how we rock.
