Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wanted to switch things up and debuted a brand new lineup on Friday night that saw forward Draymond Green take a seat on the bench.
Green was replaced by Jonathan Kuminga in the starting lineup and it appears that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
“Of course, I’m OK with it,” Green said, via ESPN. “I have been one of JK’s biggest fans since he’s been here. And so if he has an opportunity to start, you can’t be hypocritical, and they’re like we want him to start, but it’ll be (up to) you, you can’t be like, ah, it’s not for me, that don’t work. I want to see him do well.
“So if his opportunity goes through me, then it is what it is. He earned the opportunity. He played extremely well (on Thursday). You want to give that another look or two or three or four or however long. If it works, then you continue with it.”
The often-selfish Green said the decision to let Kuminga, who scored 13 points in a 107-90 loss to the Minnesota Timerwolves, start is all about doing what’s right for the team.
“I don’t necessarily look at it as like this demotion,” he stated. “I’m a starter in the NBA. I know that. But if it’s something to try to help this team win, I’m always going to be for it. I hate losing.
“I care about this organization, and I know a lot of people in this organization, including myself, think he’s next. And so if he’s next, at some point we got to see it.”
In 26 minutes off the bench, Green scored 10 points while recording nine rebounds and six assists. He had a plus/minus of -15 compared to Kuminga’s -7.
Kerr has indicated that Kuminga will continue to start over Green for the time being.
