Although it might be hard to believe for some, this Golden State Warriors side is actually just two years removed from making five straight NBA Finals appearances. While this squad looks undeniably different from the dynasty Warriors, it's also true that the front office has done a stellar job in keeping their core intact, in spite of all the trials and tribulations they faced over the past couple of seasons.
Guys like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will always grab the headlines, but perhaps equally important to this team's unique core are the likes of Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. At 31 and 37, respectively, it's no secret that both Dray and Dre are already in the twilight of their respective careers (with Iguodala in particular already knocking on retirement's door).
At this point, both veterans have pretty much been through it all in the league. Right now, for them, it's about giving back to their younger teammates. On a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, the pair went on a deep discussion about mentoring the more junior players on their squad. Both men clearly feel that it is their duty to do the same.
For his part, Green has set his sights on Golden State's highly-touted rookie Jonathan Kuminga. The 19-year-old hasn't exactly made a significant impact for the Dubs just yet, but we definitely have seen some flashes of brilliance from him. Green provided a very interesting perspective with regards to how he's taken Kuminga under his wing. As it turns out, Green doesn't consider his teenage teammate to be his friend:
“I'm trying to take it upon myself to figure out how is it that I have to lead him,” Green said of Kuminga (h/t Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports). “One of the things for me that I'm figuring out is that Jonathan Kuminga is not really a peer of mine, he's 12 years younger than me. I'm 31 years old, he's 19 years old, he's not really my peer. One of the things that I've been trying to do is when dealing with (him) is to view him more as my child than my brother. Or a younger brother, than a brother I'm going to hang with that I grew up with. View him more in that light as opposed to the light I would view you in. The way that I would say something to you, I probably can't say that to him, because I wouldn't say that to (Draymond's son) DJ.
“It's an adjustment for me because here I am 31 years old now. The last two years we've sucked … bad. As opposed to leading guys to where they need to go in their career, you're just trying to teach them how to win games. Losing is miserable, and there are certainly things that get lost within that. I'm starting to figure that out with JK and really trying to teach him everything that I can to see him have the success that he should have. Then you have a young guy like Moses [Moody] who is one of those old souls. Temperament is different, it's like he's been in the league forever, just kind of moves around a little differently. The contrast is there.”
Andre Iguodala, on the other hand, has decided to take a different approach. The Warriors star revealed that it's Jordan Poole who's he's set his eyes on as a young protege simply because of the similarities they have:
“Jordan Poole was one of my favorite guys,” Iguodala said. “He's an emotional player, and I was an emotional player. So sometimes I gotta place myself in his shoes. He wants to win and he's trying to get his stuff off and sometimes you might tell him something and he might not react the right way. I have to look at myself at 22 (years old), I was reacting the same way. I was like ‘okay, put yourself in his shoes.'”
“I try and do that more so than any other time, just seeing it from my perspective and trying to see it in his view and say ‘alright how would I want (my teammates) to help me in those situations. Patience is a big part of it but over time an understanding that you really rock with them. Like, ‘no bro, I really love you and you're really my man for life now.' Once you get past that barrier then they're open to any kind of constructive criticism.”
For Iguodala, it's about timing. He's taking it from his own personal experience here that when it comes to criticism, there's always a right time and place to dish it out. This is a very sensitive issue and could lead to a misunderstanding between teammates if not handled in the right way. Based on what he's saying here, it appears that Iguodala is well aware of the intricacies involved in being a good mentor.
In truth, both Kuminga and Poole can count themselves extremely lucky to be learning from two all-time greats. This is just one of the perks of being on the Warriors. Winning is good too, though, and so is winning an NBA championship, hopefully.
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