In this inaugural episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green, joined by Colin Cowherd and an unnamed co‑host, breaks down the Golden State Warriors’ current state and future outlook. He emphasizes that the team must redefine itself as its core ages, noting that the roster of 2019 and 2022 no longer reflects today’s needs. Green praises Steve Kerr’s growing willingness to give Jonathan Kuminga more ball‑handling duties, especially in pick‑and‑roll and isolation scenarios, while also highlighting the importance of allowing young players to develop at their own pace. He discusses the significance of bench depth—specifically the 6‑10 spots—as the true drivers of championships, contrasting this with the traditional focus on the starting five. Green reflects on his own recent scoring streak (20 points in 17‑18 consecutive games) as evidence of earned trust from Kerr. The conversation shifts to the status of Klay Thompson, the potential return of the veteran, and the impact his absence would have on roster construction. Green underscores the need for the front office and coaching staff to make decisive moves within a limited window, while expressing confidence that the organization will support its veterans. Throughout, he stresses the development of young talent—Moses Moody, Trace, and others—arguing that proper veteran mentorship is essential for their growth. The dialogue blends strategic analysis with personal anecdotes, offering a candid look at the Warriors’ challenges and opportunities as they aim for another NBA Finals appearance.
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But for you guys, man, I think you guys are still a contender. You keep the group that y'all have together. What is it you think that y'all were missing this year? Obviously you had some ups and downs, you being in and out, some injuries. What do you, what changes do you think might need to make or what do you think you need to do for y'all to get back to where y'all were for next year?
Like, I think for us, like, it's gonna be very important for us to define who it is that we gonna be. Like, we changing, bro. Like you said, we getting older. Like, we are not the same basketball team that we were in 2019 or even in 2022 for that matter. Like, it changes, you know what I'm saying? And I think, you know, we're adjusting to that change, which is, which is great. Like Steve, I think Steve is doing an incredible job of where he's becoming more open to like Jonathan Kaminga having the ball more and like Kaminga being in the pick and roll and like running some isos for Kaminga. Whereas, you know, it takes some time to adjust to that when you've had the level of success that we've had doing what we've done. Like it takes some time to adjust to that. And it also takes—
Yeah.
Everybody wanna come in and do things right away. And I think what Kaminga end up learning, and I commend him, I commend the young fella because he stuck with it, is you come in and you're looking at like a Draymond Green or one of those guys that's in Houston or in one of those places that they got in, they got the ball right away. Let him grow. Do what the hell they wanted to do. Right? And you look at that and you like, Man, I wanna, you know, I wanna show what I can do. And you don't realize, and like I said, this is no knock on Jonathan Kamenga. That's my young fella. I love him to death. And again, I'm crediting him. You don't realize that A, when I'm in a great situation, respect is earned.
Yeah.
B, they've done things a certain way. And it's on me to show them that doing this my way where I can be successful will work for them and they should do that. And you know, when I watched the young fella's growth, for a little while it was up and down because I don't think he understood that. And by the way, how do you understand that without going through it? And then I think it clicked for him.
Yeah.
Let me do the things that I need to do to get on the court. Once I'm on the court, I can then do a little more of what I know I'm capable of doing. Oh, and by the way, when I do that, now all of a sudden Steve Kerr trusts me. And I scored 20 points in 17, 18 straight games in a row because he trusts me. Oh, look how that works. And so I think, you know, that has helped like young guys, you know, we got the young guys coming along and BP and Trace. Like I think as the year went on, you started to see like, man, Trace is a real live threat. You know, we went through the early part of the year without necessarily having a live threat. You know what I'm saying? And me and Loon, me and Loon got a certain chemistry that's great. I love playing with Kevon Looney, man. Yeah. But like with the league changing and getting bigger, we ain't that athletic together. You started to see, all right, they start like separating me and Loon. Like, all right, I'm in the lineup. When I'm out, Loon's in the lineup. You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
Loon's in, when I'm out the game, Loon in. Because you just start to see the league's changing. And so then all of a sudden incorporate that young lob threat and that changes our offense. It changes our defense and things start to change. And so I think for us, It is just important for us to shore up. I always tell people, and you know it, championships are won 6 through 10.
Yeah.
And championships are not won 1 through 5. And so it's just on us to shore up and make the decisions of what does our 6 to 10 look like? You know, what does our 1 to 5 look like? Does that mean Draymond, you're outta the starting lineup and Kaminga's in? Although I think Kaminga's a better 3 than necessarily a 4, right? But like, these are the decisions that we have to make. And you know, like you said, I'm happy I ain't got the job.
It's all on Steve. Yeah.
But Steve's great in those situations. I think he'll make 'em. I think Mike's doing a great job. It'll be very important for us to try to get Klay back. You know what I'm saying? Like, I think, you know, that's huge. What does Klay do? If Klay decides not to come back, then what does that look like for us, right? Like, are you swinging to try to get another big guy? Like what does that look like? And so—
It'll be weird, man.
I just think there are some decisions that have to be made for us. And I trust and know that our front office and our coaching staff will make the right decisions. But I think we still got a small window to make something happen. And you know, I know this organization will honor Steph and myself and Klay. I know they'll honor us in that way of giving us every chance they can to help us win.
Yeah.
Dunleavy's done a great job, man. So has Steve. I love what they've done. I said it would be weird to see Klay in another uniform. I hope he doesn't leave. It would just be weird. And as much as I fucking hate y'all winning so much and competing against y'all, it's just weird to see a group like that special to have to break up because of, you know, some other things. But yeah.
No doubt.
End of the day, ultimately we talk about the young guys. I do, like, I hope y'all keep your core. You said fill it in with some pieces. 'Cause if y'all just stay consistent and healthy, Y'all just had some, and like, y'all were definitely a playoff team. It's just getting back to the level of contention. And if y'all are healthy, I think y'all can compete with any, like, any given night. Like, y'all can win a series or beat a team 4 games. Just finding the right pieces. And so a lot of the young guys don't understand, which I like so much in Derek Lively, is you don't have to do what Draymond Green does to show your value.
Facts.
I'm saying, Kuminga, it's like, yo, people, you don't have to do all those things. People know how valuable you are. You can still do the other, it says baby steps, work your way in, work your way up. But just because you're not, you, you don't have to do that. And you can still make a lot of money. 'Cause people can see that in you before you have to show it. They can see you can grow into that and they eventually let you get there. Mm-hmm. You just had to kind of wait, wait your turn, wait your time. But you can still be valued by doing what you're, you're good at first and then kind of opening, you know, get stepping outside the box and then, you know, adding some more things to the bag. Uh, but yeah, that's exactly the value is not on, you know, let me, let me show what I can do. Let me show the world or the fans. You don't have to do that.
Do what you— There's only a couple guys they gonna let do that.
It's like 2% if that in the league. It's 1% of guys in the league is gonna do that. And you, you can get there at some point, you'll get there. But ultimately just win, do what you're supposed to do to feed your family. You, you'll show your value by doing that. You'll keep getting paid and, and getting years in the league and then you get to that level. But that's why I like Derek Lively so much. And a lot of guys on Dallas and I think they have a really good shot because guys know their roles very well and know it early.
Mm-hmm.
And they're not tripping about having to be that guy yet.
That's a fact. No, we got a young guy like that also where like, I think he actually made it very tough on our coaches this year because when he plays, he plays well.
Moses?
Moses plays, plays well.
He was good, man. I liked his game.
I'm like, yeah. Shoot well, compete, defend, you know? But like, as you know, it's a numbers game. And sometimes the numbers don't fall your way. But like, you keep going back to this dude because you know every time he produce, the numbers just don't always fall your way. And that's like a young guy who, like even with Moses, right? Like you're at that positioning in the young guy's careers where like you have to make those decisions. And I think making those decisions help because it's like, you know what? Moses is our guy. He in the lineup. And when you start solidifying that stuff, it really helps the growth. And so— Yeah. You know, Moses, I love Moses. That's my young brother. But nah, man.
That's huge. Coach is not backing you, encouraging young players. 'Cause you know, young rookies are just, that's the big confidence is making or breaking them in the league. And you have the right coaching staff behind you, the right group behind you, right? Vets. I think he's in a good spot, man. So is Trace. I think my younger brother played with Trace at IU. So I haven't seen him play for a while, but they're in a good spot, man. 'Cause you said, I see a lot of young guys, man, and they have the potential to be so great. They're just in the wrong organization. With no, no vets.
And no one blames the organization. It's always the player fault.
Nah. So, and I don't wanna point out any organization or players, but it's like, it is some, a lot of talent here. He's just not getting groomed the right way. He's not having the right vets around him. He just don't understand how to be a pro yet first and then be a basketball player and then grow into being a star.
Absolutely.
It's, it's a process, man.
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