Wonderful/terrible Draymond
And Kuminga's bumpy development
DAVID
I don't know if you want to get want to get into the Draymond thing, but we have been at TrueHoop, I think, very fair covering Draymond—especially early on, when he was just racking up astounding plus-minus numbers.
HENRY
He brings a lot to the table.
DAVID
For sure, first-ballot Hall of Famer. I'm completely endorsing that.
However, his stance now, that the league is just targeting him, is misguided. I’m watching lots of games; he'll have more flailing elbows into people's heads than we' see in entire series from everyone else combined. That has to be addressed and it's not the media's fault. You're the one doing this.
Watching Steph the other night, to me he looked petrified Draymond was going to get ejected. Steph is dying to get back on the court and you could see him on the bench, thinking “Are you kidding? This fucking guy's doing this again. He's gonna fuck it up. “
HENRY
I suspect Draymond thinks his mouth is his superpower, right? For a while he was one of the best players in the league because of his play, and he did crazy things with his mouth at the same time. Like he was working little mind control operations on opponents and refs and coaches and stuff.
And he's always been crazy. He goes after Steve Kerr with his mouth. He has no bounds. Now he's a little older, and his play is a little back down to earth, and so I think he feels like, Oh, don't worry, I've got the secret sauce; I know how to do it. He's saying all this shit.
I would bet that after a couple of beers, he would tell us how smart he is and how he's working this referee and he's working that guy and he has this thing going, and don't worry, it’s all under control. He's been proven right many times in the past. He’s the lynch pin of a dynasty.
But I think he's a little wrong about the cause of those wins.
DAVID
Well stated. And if the Warriors end up losing Wednesday’s Game 5, and then they're done, it's hard for me to imagine the Warriors aren't going to be second guessing paying Draymond all that money.
He’s certainly shown he can’t carry them in Curry’s absence, which he or someone will have to do to give them a chance at seeing him return in Game 6.
The Dubs are a one-man show, with Jimmy Butler not being able to recreate his postseason magic from his Miami days while Steph sits.
If we gave Steve Kerr a time machine, he’d go back and totally change his approach with Jonathan Kuminga. He lost faith in him (or his personality) months ago, yet needed him in Curry’s absence. Kuminga played well, very well actually, despite not getting any royal jelly. I don’t know what they could have gotten by trading him, or if he was salvageable on his own, but I do know the end result has not worked out.
Thank you for reading TrueHoop
I realize that he is a good/great player, but his disregard for the rules and his on-court demeanor have kept me from being a fan. I agree that he is getting worse as his skills decline. I wish the league and the officials (who frequently seem to not make calls that will set him off!) would take a tougher stance than they do. In my opinion his conduct is detrimental to the sport. I'm all for tough, rugged defense but there is a line that needs to be kept intact. I was watching the game where Kermit Washington smashed Rudy T's face. I want this league that I love so much to not go there again.