There's no doubting Draymond Green's status as a legend of the Golden State Warriors, having developed from second-round pick to one of the greatest players in franchise history.
More recently though, Green has cost the Warriors in certain regards. This has usually stemmed from his fiery on-court antics, while most notably his punch on Jordan Poole in the training camp of 2022 unquestionable played a role in the young guard getting traded just over six months later.
Now, the veteran forward may be on the cusp of costing Golden State another of their young players. Jonathan Kuminga is set for restricted free agency this offseason, with a strong possibility that he departs the Warriors via a sign-and-trade.
Draymond Green is serving as a roadblock to Jonathan Kuminga
Green has been a mentor for Kuminga throughout his first four years with Golden State, and wants nothing more than to see the young forward flourish into a long and prosperous career. But unfortunately Green and the Warriors face a brutal reality -- that his presence is playing a significant role in holding Kuminga back.
There's a clear positional overlap with both players, particularly when you consider they aren't respected as shooters by opposing defenses. This has made the fit between the two tricky, and has subsequently limited Kuminga's runway into becoming the player he envisages for himself.
Perhaps playing opportunity may still have remained limited for Kuminga under head coach Steve Kerr, but it's also easier to see a much clearer pathway to a consistent role were Green not around.
“Kuminga is not as good as Draymond, never will be. But that's what's blocking Kuminga, at least in this system. That Kuminga should be the power forward with a shooting center," Tim Kawakami said on the latest Warriors Plus-Minus podcast.
In fairness to Green, he willingly came off the bench earlier this season to try and give Kuminga the room to thrive. That was incredibly short-lived though, with Kerr quickly returning to his proven veteran once things started going pear-shaped.
With Kuminga having displayed his immense potential again over the final four games of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, there's even been suggestions that Golden State should retain the 22-year-old and consider moving on from Green instead.
Yet given the Warriors appear locked into their veteran core, such a move should be seen as very unlikely. There remains a chance that Kuminga and Green could remain teammates heading into next season, yet whether they can co-exist effectively together is still a very real concern.
