Warriors' Steve Kerr wants people to ‘settle down' with Draymond Green criticism originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors coach Steve Kerr pushed back on recent criticism of Draymond Green, urging fans and analysts to avoid overreacting to short-term analytics and small sample sizes.

Speaking Thursday on 95.7 The Game, Kerr defended Green’s ongoing impact — particularly on the defensive end — while cautioning against placing too much weight on recent plus-minus numbers.

“One of the big themes from the analytics department is, you know, be careful with small sample sizes,” Kerr said. “So when I hear people say, ‘Draymond has been a negative for, you know, the last 10 games.’ I’m like, ‘Well, he’s been positive for the last 12 years.’ So like, let’s, let’s settle down here. Let’s, let’s give it some time.”

Kerr’s comments came one day after Green logged a physical, high-energy defensive performance against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, serving as Golden State’s primary matchup against the two-time NBA MVP. While Antetokounmpo still finished with strong counting stats, Kerr emphasized that Green made nearly every possession difficult — and played a key role in the Warriors securing a 120-113 win.

“Draymond is probably the best possible matchup for Giannis that we could find,” Kerr noted. “His brain, his IQ, his strength, his length, physical strength — all that stuff just comes into play when you’re playing a guy like Giannis. I mean, you need everything, and Draymond has everything.”

Kerr acknowledged that Green’s on-court metrics — particularly his plus-minus — have not matched his usual standard this season, but emphasized that context matters when evaluating those numbers.

“I think you have to allow for all the circumstances that are involved — where the league is, how people are playing,” Kerr added. “I’m going to keep hammering home … that if we take care of the ball and we get offensive rebounds, then we’re going to be a really good team, and Draymond is going to be on the plus side.”

For Kerr, the bigger picture remains unchanged.

“I just think you can’t get too carried away with the numbers,” Kerr said. “You have to study them and take them with a grain of salt, too.”

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De'Anthony Melton's patience, perspective clarified bigger picture with Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Video games are just one outlet that got De’Anthony Melton through another long rehab. Hours controlling a world through joysticks when his own body kept having setbacks as an elite athlete in his mid-20s.

Melton, now 27, scoured streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Max, going through a number of shows and currently is watching The Sopranos. Books were another friend to him, too, and Melton shared Thursday after Warriors practice that The 48 Laws of Power and The Power of Now are two that he read in a time when basketball wasn’t an option.

Having to be taken to physical therapy appointments by his uncle and the worry of hitting his surgically repaired left knee getting in and out of the car are memories that will remain. Those days also will always be part of his story.

A closed chapter of his own book that’s being written day by day.

“Man, just to hear I’ve been playing for over a month, I’m excited about it,” Melton said Thursday. “I’m feeling well. Taking it game by game. I think adjusting to different teams, different coverages and different players is what I’m trying to get more acclimated with.”

Right when Melton last season was proving what a perfect fit he is next to Steph Curry, he sustained a partial tear of his left ACL that eventually required season-ending surgery after only six games. Back to rehab he went. 

The player Melton knows he is, the player the Philadelphia 76ers thought he could be from seeing what he was becoming in Memphis, and the player some might have forgotten about in between is who balled off the bench Wednesday night in the Warriors’ 120-113 win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Melton scored a season-high 22 points, second to Curry’s 31, on 8-of-12 shooting and 5 of 9 on threes, three rebounds and one steal. For the first time all season, he played 25 minutes. For the first time since Dec. 27, 2023, he scored 20 or more points.

But Wednesday night’s win also was only Melton’s 25th game played since scoring 22 points in a 76ers victory against the Orlando Magic more than two years ago.

“It’s just crazy to even think about, honestly. But I’m just so blessed. I’m so blessed just to be in this position I am today,” Melton said. “To have the team that I have around me today and to still be able to lace them up is always important for me.

“Like I said, just keep taking it day by day, game by game. I think before I was just trying to sum up everything in my next game or my next play. Now I’m just trying to be more free about stuff and kind of cut myself some grace too.”

Since January of 2024, Melton’s career has been halted. Back complications in the 2023-24 season held him out of the first three games of the new year when he was with the 76ers before playing two and missing the next 18. He returned for three more and then was out for another 21. 

After playing a career-high 77 games his first season as a Sixer, Melton played just 38 his second season. His first season in a Warriors jersey was even more unfortunate and lasted all of three weeks.

On the one-year anniversary of his ACL surgery, Melton made his 2025-26 season debut for the Warriors and again gave a reminder of the player he is. Melton closed a last-second loss where he scored 14 points and had three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 21 minutes. He had another strong performance of 13 points and three 3-pointers in his second game but then shooting struggles began and the Warriors had a turbulent month of December. 

Each loss weighed on him and the weight Melton was putting on his back became heavier by the game. Confidence didn’t waver but he tightened, and the self-inflicted pressure couldn’t let him play free. Melton went five straight games without making a three in 15 attempts and averaged 3.4 points in that stretch. 

“I wanted it so bad,” Melton said. “I just wanted to be productive and especially win games so bad that I was kind of putting it all on me.” 

Conversations from teammates, coaches, and Melton’s inner circle brought grace back to him and made him remember he’s allowed it, talking about how much has changed throughout the NBA in the last two years and just how hard it is to even play against the best in the world. What his body went through gave Melton a lot of time to himself to think, and a new perspective with that. 

So of course all he could do was rush when he got that first taste of being back in the game. 

The Warriors realized right away in last season’s training camp what an important player Melton is to their success. Curry after Wednesday’s win against the Bucks explained how Melton is what every team is looking for out of today’s shooting guard. 

“He’s just versatile,” Curry said. “Defensively, he can guard on the ball, point of attack. He plays passing lanes. He’s just smart. Quick on his feet and has a crazy wingspan where he can be a pest out there. 

“And then offensively, he’s a solid knock-down shooter. Can catch and shoot, but he’s one of the few that has a pace to him where when he puts the ball on the floor he can create something. … He’s a prototypical starting 2 guard and he’s played on good teams, so he knows what that level looks like. I’m happy that he’s healthy and able to do it for us.”

Steve Kerr after Thursday’s practice said the prototypical shooting guard is someone who, in the simplest of terms, makes plays. That it’s a playmaking league. Someone who can dribble, pass and shoot reliably, and make a difference defensively. 

“He’s a two-way player, excellent defender. But when he’s out there I can have him handle the ball, I can have him off the ball,” Kerr said. “You see the shooting is starting to come around and it’s fun to see him really finding his groove after missing most of two years.”

Melton isn’t playing both sides of back-to-backs to preserve his health and has missed three games, yet is second on the Warriors in plus/minus (plus-57) since making his Dec. 4 debut. He also isn’t starting games, which he did in the final two he played last season next to Curry when he averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and went 11 of 23 from the field and 7 of 14 from 3-point range. Kerr says that until he gets the green light to give Melton 30 minutes, he’ll keep playing him around 25.

He’ll also bump that to 30 as soon as he’s allowed. Notice that Curry said prototypical starting 2 guard. Melton is the long-armed defender he needs next to him that also can create, make shots and score 15 to 20 or more points, knowing that the impact still will be there in games he scores below that. 

Curry and Melton’s sample size together this season is 11 games and 116 minutes, and their 124.2 offensive rating is already the best among anybody next to Steph. Wednesday was Melton’s 13th game this season and the fourth he has made multiple threes. The Warriors are 4-0 in those games, and Melton has averaged around 23 minutes in them.

Going day by day is all Melton wants and asks for. He’s happy to have regained that mindset. It’s helped him see the big picture, and he also unapologetically admits he wants to be the Warriors’ starting shooting guard once the biggest games are here, fully trusting his and the team’s process.

“I think starting in this league is something everybody should hope for, honestly,” Melton said. “I’m willing to do whatever the team takes. … Just that ramp up stage is most important for me. I want to make sure I’m accessible and available for this team in May and the month after that. I’m not trying to be too worried about January. I feel like that’s what was kind of hindering my play in December, worrying so much about the full season. 

“So I just want to take it game by game and see where that goes.” 

Melton accepted the grace granted to him, and in return, can give the Warriors the perfect partner for Curry as the team gets closer to what they pictured when he’s healthy.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves held a moment of silence in memory of Renee Good - who was shot dead by a US immigration agent - before Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Good, 37, was killed less than four miles from the Timberwolves' Target Center following a confrontation on Wednesday morning.

"As we all know, our community has suffered yet another unspeakable tragedy," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

"We want to just convey our condolences and heartfelt wishes and prayers and thoughts to the families and loved ones and all of those that are greatly affected by what happened."

Minnesota earned a fourth successive win - beating Cleveland 131-122 - with Julius Randle scoring 28 points, with 11 rebounds and eight assists.

The Timberwolves are fourth in the Western Conference with the Cavaliers, who have lost two of their last three matches, eighth in the Eastern.

The Indiana Pacers won 114-112 at the Charlotte Hornets to end a 13-game losing streak and deliver a 1,000th victory for coach Rick Carlisle.

Carlisle has coached the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks and had two spells with the Pacers during his 25-year career.

The 66-year-old is the 11th coach to reach the milestone and the first to join the group since Doc Rivers in 2021.

Indiana remain bottom of the Eastern Conference with the Hornets in 12th.

In Salt Lake City, Utah Jazz halted a five-match losing run with a 116-114 win against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Chicago Bulls' meeting with the Miami Heat was postponed due to condensation on the court in Chicago.

The United Center hosted an NHL game on Thursday and after an unseasonably warm, rainy day in Chicago, the court was not playable 24 hours later.

Players from both teams went through their standard pre-game warm-up but the fixture was called off after 90 minutes following an agreement by the NBA league office, game officials and both teams' coaches.

Finding potential Jonathan Kuminga trade partner proves elusive for Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Jonathan Kuminga is skilled and talented, a basketball superstar-in-waiting who is being subjected to malicious detention by his employers. Once liberated from the Warriors, he will be given space to blossom.

If the rest of NBA reached this conclusion and began competing for the right to add Kuminga, the Warriors take the best offer and general manager Mike Dunleavy and coach Steve Kerr would kiss each other until their lips bled.

There is, however, no such frenzy. There is no love being shown toward Kuminga. Which has him going through practices and sitting on the bench for games in which he does not play – and some fans wondering if Kerr is being punitive.

Of the other 29 teams in the NBA, only the Sacramento Kings have shown interest in acquiring Kuminga, according to league sources. That the Kings are alone on this island makes a statement on its own – use your imagination – but Sacramento general manager Scott Perry is eager to shed high-salaried veterans and begin a rebuild.

The other 28 teams have shown no more than tepid interest, sources say, leaving the market for Kuminga even cooler now than it was last July, when he was a restricted free agent hoping for an offer sheet that never came.

“I hope [Kuminga] figures it out,” one NBA scout tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “But I’ll tell you what: Nobody in the league, none of us, can figure him out – because the Warriors can’t figure him out.”

So, here we are, six months and nine days later, with the Warriors and Kuminga still operating under the same roof, breathing the same air. All parties are generally cordial, according to sources, but it’s clear their differences are irreconcilable. There is “Good morning” and “Good night,” with too many empty hours in between.

Now, as then, Kuminga wants out as soon as possible, and the Warriors would like to move him the moment he is eligible to be traded on Jan. 15. CEO Joe Lacob remains a fan of Kuminga, but Dunleavy is hoping for a call that leads to farewell transaction that brings at least a high-level role player to Golden State.

Until such a call comes, if it does at all, Kuminga and the Warriors must share what only can be described as a generally peaceful but ultimately dreadful existence.

“It’s tough for the kid,” one former NBA player still employed within the league tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s not a bad kid, but he’s not in a good situation. Golden State has tried different things, but nothing has worked for them or for him.”

Kuminga opened the 2025-26 NBA season in the starting lineup and remained there for 13 games, averaging 13.8 points, on 47.8-percent shooting, including 32.4 percent from deep, and 6.6 rebounds per game. He was holding his own on offense, but all but two of his assists were offset by a turnover before he left the lineup due to bilateral knee tendinitis.

He missed seven games, returning on Nov. 29 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Kuminga played in the next four games, with one start, but shot 30 percent from the field (12 of 40), including 30.8 percent (4 of 13) from distance.

Kuminga, 23, has played only once since Dec. 6, coming off the bench for 10 minutes on Dec. 18 against the Suns in Phoenix. The last time he was slated to be in the rotation, Jan. 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was a late scratch with back soreness.

Though Kerr this week said there “is a path” for Kuminga to get back in the rotation, all signs indicate that path is through an injury to or absence of a teammate. Barring that, Kuminga likely will remain tied to the bench until he no longer is a Warrior.

Golden State had hoped Kuminga could fill a role, to be an eager on-ball defender on one end and on the other end a slasher who complements an offense guided by the principle of harmonious ball movement to maximize the impact of team touchstone Stephen Curry.

The Warriors, in their sepia dreams, longed for Kuminga to aspire to their version of Alex Caruso or Jaden McDaniels or Ausar Thompson. An athletic, disruptive defender capable of spectacular scoring highlights.

But Kuminga wants to be a star with the ball in his hands. He left The Democratic Republic of the Congo for the United States as a 14-year-old with hoop dreams. He was mesmerized by repetitive viewing of video highlights of Kobe Bryant. Similar size, similar athleticism and . . . visualization took it from there.

More than nine years later, with 6,118 NBA minutes behind him, Kuminga’s handle is unsteady, his shooting spotty and his decision-making, despite signs of improvement, still is considered a weakness.

There is no way Kuminga can be the lead member of a Warriors team with three Hall of Famers, with Stephen Curry being the established centerpiece. Moreover, there is no evidence Kuminga can be the lead member of a contender.

“There are some guys that are just really good when they’re in that No. 3 role,” one front office executive tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “And sometimes they try to be in that No. 2 role or No. 1 role. And it’s too much for them. Jamal Crawford’s a good example. Whenever he was put in position to be the lead guy, he didn’t win. But when he was that guy off the bench, scoring, everybody loved him.”

Kuminga is a good soul who gets his share of love from teammates; Jimmy Butler III has served as a mentor. But the cold truth is that NBA teams have known for months that Kuminga was available, and the Warriors have yet to see an offer that implied a potential trade partner loved him. 

If that were the case, this ongoing months-long saga, bereft of joy, would not exist. 

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