Is the Draymond Situation Starting to Bother You?

[Sleepy51]

New hot take.

Draymond is going to turn Kuminga into a special two way player. Draymond is a poon, and a fake tough guy and jackass and all of that, but he's a basketball savant and he is taking a personal interest in imparting some of his brain to Kuminga. If you watch one of the feeds (TNT overtire?) where you get to hear the court noise without any announcers and Dray and Kuminga are communicating non-stop every defensive possession. Dray is talking to everyone, but JK is pretty much the only guy who communicates back. There have a rapport and something potentially special is happening between them. I'm sure a lot of this investment is Dray's act of contrition for what the punch did to the team, but for whatever reason he's doing it. Dray wants JK to be great and he's actually working at developing him.

I want more of that please.

[Warriors Analyst]

New hot take.

Draymond is going to turn Kuminga into a special two way player. Draymond is a poon, and a fake tough guy and jackass and all of that, but he's a basketball savant and he is taking a personal interest in imparting some of his brain to Kuminga. If you watch one of the feeds (TNT overtire?) where you get to hear the court noise without any announcers and Dray and Kuminga are communicating non-stop every defensive possession. Dray is talking to everyone, but JK is pretty much the only guy who communicates back. There have a rapport and something potentially special is happening between them. I'm sure a lot of this investment is Dray's act of contrition for what the punch did to the team, but for whatever reason he's doing it. Dray wants JK to be great and he's actually working at developing him.

I want more of that please.

When JK was a rookie, Dray talked about the Warriors needing him to win a championship and said something to the effect of "he can do things nobody on this team can do." He clearly sees Kuminga's physical gifts and understands how powerful they could be if harnessed properly.

[Sleepy51]

New hot take.

Draymond is going to turn Kuminga into a special two way player. Draymond is a poon, and a fake tough guy and jackass and all of that, but he's a basketball savant and he is taking a personal interest in imparting some of his brain to Kuminga. If you watch one of the feeds (TNT overtire?) where you get to hear the court noise without any announcers and Dray and Kuminga are communicating non-stop every defensive possession. Dray is talking to everyone, but JK is pretty much the only guy who communicates back. There have a rapport and something potentially special is happening between them. I'm sure a lot of this investment is Dray's act of contrition for what the punch did to the team, but for whatever reason he's doing it. Dray wants JK to be great and he's actually working at developing him.

I want more of that please.

When JK was a rookie, Dray talked about the Warriors needing him to win a championship and said something to the effect of "he can do things nobody on this team can do." He clearly sees Kuminga's physical gifts and understands how powerful they could be if harnessed properly.

Last year he also talked about JK being able to do things on defense that the rest of the team would have to learn how to adjust to. A lot of that is that JK is actually capable of attempting to disrupt offensive players and then recover. The rest of the warriors don't recover. Everyone pre-rotates and they depend so much on the defensive string theory that no one is used to a guy making a defensive play from behind an offensive player, or getting back into position after gambling. JK "can" do those things. He needs to learn how and when to do them, and how to communicate them to teammates, but where we have has a largely "bend don't break" defense, JK is a guy who showed early instincts and willingness to actually be a disruptor of opposing offenses. A lot of that got sitffled over the past year of Kerr's mismanagement, but the actual smartest basketball guy in the room saw it even before the draft.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Kuminga gets to near rim faster than people are able to move to defend him. Kuminga has good releases and good touch at short range. Kuminga is a scorer.

The only other thing Kuminga does better than average is stay in front of his man on defense. Kuminga moves his feet quickly. Kuminga is OK at not falling for dribbler fakes.

Draymond was not able to teach Kuminga good team defense decision making.

[Sleepy51]

Draymond was not able to teach Kuminga good team defense decision making.

He's been playing basketball for all of 7 years. He didn't start until 13-14. You learn 5 on 5 basketball by playing 5 on 5 basketball. He needed to get/earn enough run to stay on the floor. He's doing just that.

[The Bandit]

Draymond is constantly talking to Kuminga because he's clueless. Even on offense he never knows when he should be cutting or screening.

[CDM_Stats]

Draymond is constantly talking to Kuminga because he's clueless. Even on offense he never knows when he should be cutting or screening.

To be fair, thats how Wiggins started out too. We got a good look at how a dumb person (Oubre) and a not dumb person (Wiggins) played with Draymond.. I think JK is definitely closer to Oubre than Wiggins at this stage, not just because the off-ball D isnt good, but because the trajectory isn't either.. but still, Kuminga's scoring opens up a larger margin of error there than Wiggins or Oubre. But in that scenario, the ideal situation is keeping JK off-ball minimally, and making him the POA defender. A lot less thinking and a lot more reacting is probably the best thing you can do for a young kid

[DoubleLintendre]

I know for some of you Draymond's antics don't matter. Fact is he took another cheep shot at AD.

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Watch on YouTube

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Posted this same thing in the general board. Draymond bit on a ball fake by AD-- it was an accident. If AD actually passed the ball it would be where his head is at. Pause around :30 seconds in. Other times Draymond may be looking to get overly physical with opposing players, this was not really one of those times.

[GQ Hot Dog]

Draymond is constantly talking to Kuminga because he's clueless. Even on offense he never knows when he should be cutting or screening.

To be fair, thats how Wiggins started out too. We got a good look at how a dumb person (Oubre) and a not dumb person (Wiggins) played with Draymond.. I think JK is definitely closer to Oubre than Wiggins at this stage, not just because the off-ball D isnt good, but because the trajectory isn't either.. but still, Kuminga's scoring opens up a larger margin of error there than Wiggins or Oubre. But in that scenario, the ideal situation is keeping JK off-ball minimally, and making him the POA defender. A lot less thinking and a lot more reacting is probably the best thing you can do for a young kid

IMO, the time to get him figuring out defense off ball is now because that's how he'll learn. He's also a big brawny dude and chasing quick guards up and over screens is not what he's built for.

Kuminga is a bright kid. He's competitive. He's driven. He's intense. Build his knowledge base now. Put a lot on his plate and it will pay dividends. Trust the kid's intellect because that trust will be rewarded.

[Sleepy51]

Draymond is constantly talking to Kuminga because he's clueless. Even on offense he never knows when he should be cutting or screening.

Nope, he's not barking "at" him. He's talking "with him" and NOTABLY JK is engaged in the conversation. JK is seemingly the only other Warrior who is vocal on D. They are building rapport..

[CDM_Stats]

IMO, the time to get him figuring out defense off ball is now because that's how he'll learn. He's also a big brawny dude and chasing quick guards up and over screens is not what he's built for.

Kuminga is a bright kid. He's competitive. He's driven. He's intense. Build his knowledge base now. Put a lot on his plate and it will pay dividends. Trust the kid's intellect because that trust will be rewarded.

Disagree - throwing people into the fire rarely works out, and if it does, its super slow. Playing him as the main POA defender doesnt mean he'll never be off-ball, just means we do our best to minimize it. And I think that, as well as playing as the main POA with good off-ball defenders behind him, is a great way to slowly integrate him there and see if he can ever find his off-ball legs. Some, like Klay, never do and the limitation just needs to be eaten. Some, like Wiggins, find their stride despite not being a basketball savant. Since the team has a clear path to slowly integrating him.. why not? It's a pretty nice luxury to have

All that said, there's nothing to indicate BBIQ growth at this stage, especially relating to the 5 on 5 game. What we've seen is improvement to his individual game, which is fine, but that doesnt translate. And if anything, its concerning that that's nearly exclusively where the growth has been at this time. There was one post saying all this stuff about he's improved this that and the other thing.. actual truth is he's improved his scoring. And that's great, because steady growth there is tough to do, but it's never been the issue that drives the negatives of his game. This is, and if he's scoring well enough to lengthen the leash, then lean into it. Last thing you'd want to do is overwhelm him defensively and have it start bleedingly negatively into his offense. Instead, let his success on offense and (hopefully) man defense bleed into a rhythm, kinda like Klay has done for stretches over his career

[GQ Hot Dog]

Draymond is constantly talking to Kuminga because he's clueless. Even on offense he never knows when he should be cutting or screening.

Nope, he's not barking "at" him. He's talking "with him" and NOTABLY JK is engaged in the conversation. JK is seemingly the only other Warrior who is vocal on D. They are building rapport..

Absolutely. Kuminga has already made a point of mentioning Draymond taking a mentorship like role. Giving him advice and encouragement. Kuminga came in raw but the dude is hyper competitive and super switched on. He is aching to get better and fulfill his immense potential. He's the opposite of someone like Ayton who wants to coast on talent and collect a paycheck.

Warriors would do well to invest teaching, minutes and money into him. Make him love the team and the org and it will pay off.

I get the impression Kerr developed a bias against him early, thinking that giving him special attention would be wasted effort on the part of the coaching staff because of how raw he was. Kuminga responded by not only working hard, but going to the media to subtly call out Kerr.

The subtext was, "You should be investing everything into me, not trying to get Klay or Wiggins back to where they once were. I am a future star and if you don't commit to me I am going to point it out and embarrass you to the media until you relent."

And it seems to have worked because if the FO had Kerr's back they would have traded Kuminga away to send him that message. Instead they send Kerr the message that Kuminga is the future they are backing and Kerr better get onboard. I like Kerr, but it's like dude, you're not the authority in this org so get with the program and Kuminga is the program.

[billinder33]

Maybe this is how Dray's learning to cope with his anger issues... He's adopted a pet!!!!

[ILOVEIT]

Eh...Jordan Poole was Draymond's guy too. Please.

Draymond works these young guys partly because he keeps him relevant. It's his other way of Alpha dogging dudes.

If Kuminga says to Draymond, "Enough OG, I don't need to hear it AGAIN" what do you think Draymond would do?

[GQ Hot Dog]

Eh...Jordan Poole was Draymond's guy too. Please.

Draymond works these young guys partly because he keeps him relevant. It's his other way of Alpha dogging dudes.

If Kuminga says to Draymond, "Enough OG, I don't need to hear it AGAIN" what do you think Draymond would do?

You're very cynical and it's misplaced. Draymond's a good guy. He's not selfish. His entire career is about making those around him better because his game isn't designed to win by itself. He loses control when his ceiling raising doesn't result in wins because he wants it so bad for his guys. He's the consummate team player because being that is what makes him relevant.

[Old_Blue]

If Kuminga says to Draymond, "Enough OG, I don't need to hear it AGAIN" what do you think Draymond would do?

Interesting question. Kuminga is a lot bigger than Poole. So, Draymond couldn't get away with the same kind of retaliation like he did to Poole. It would definitely have to be more of a sneak attack, maybe on the team plane while Kuminga was sleeping. Either that, or one of Draymond's trademark spastic "unnatural act" moves where he randomly flails either a leg (like with LeBron) or an arm (like with Nurkic). Regardless of how it went down though, history clearly indicates the team would take Draymond's side.

[Impuniti]

Eh...Jordan Poole was Draymond's guy too. Please.

Draymond works these young guys partly because he keeps him relevant. It's his other way of Alpha dogging dudes.

If Kuminga says to Draymond, "Enough OG, I don't need to hear it AGAIN" what do you think Draymond would do?

You're very cynical and it's misplaced. Draymond's a good guy. He's not selfish. His entire career is about making those around him better because his game isn't designed to win by itself. He loses control when his ceiling raising doesn't result in wins because he wants it so bad for his guys. He's the consummate team player because being that is what makes him relevant.

Consummate team player doesn't get suspended for half the season hurting his team in multiple suspensions in a season they need bodies at all times. I agree he is a team player but consummate is not only a stretch but a wild statement.

[GQ Hot Dog]

Eh...Jordan Poole was Draymond's guy too. Please.

Draymond works these young guys partly because he keeps him relevant. It's his other way of Alpha dogging dudes.

If Kuminga says to Draymond, "Enough OG, I don't need to hear it AGAIN" what do you think Draymond would do?

You're very cynical and it's misplaced. Draymond's a good guy. He's not selfish. His entire career is about making those around him better because his game isn't designed to win by itself. He loses control when his ceiling raising doesn't result in wins because he wants it so bad for his guys. He's the consummate team player because being that is what makes him relevant.

Consummate team player doesn't get suspended for half the season hurting his team in multiple suspensions in a season they need bodies at all times. I agree he is a team player but consummate is not only a stretch but a wild statement.

He loses control because he wants to win so bad. He took time off to figure out how to avoid that in a difficult season. It all makes sense for a guy who is the consummate(showing a high degree of skill and flair; complete or perfect) team player. Draymond is all about the team. That's why, even during his prime, he was derided as a role player. Because he's not much good outside of the role he plays for the team. It makes sense to me.

My point is that none of Draymond's behavior is surprising considering his role as the "team" guy.

[Jester_]

You're very cynical and it's misplaced. Draymond's a good guy. He's not selfish. His entire career is about making those around him better because his game isn't designed to win by itself. He loses control when his ceiling raising doesn't result in wins because he wants it so bad for his guys. He's the consummate team player because being that is what makes him relevant.

Consummate team player doesn't get suspended for half the season hurting his team in multiple suspensions in a season they need bodies at all times. I agree he is a team player but consummate is not only a stretch but a wild statement.

He loses control because he wants to win so bad. He took time off to figure out how to avoid that in a difficult season. It all makes sense for a guy who is the consummate(showing a high degree of skill and flair; complete or perfect) team player. Draymond is all about the team. That's why, even during his prime, he was derided as a role player. Because he's not much good outside of the role he plays for the team. It makes sense to me.

My point is that none of Draymond's behavior is surprising considering his role as the "team" guy.

[GQ Hot Dog]

You're a fan of autofellatio I see. It was always very obvious you were.