Bay Area columnist Monte Poole described Draymond Green’s relationship with Jonathan Kuminga as a “problem” last year. Of course, the Jordan Poole punch was where it started. Watching a veteran who is supposed to take the role of mentor, throwing punches at a teammate, doesn’t exactly come under trust-building exercises, now does it? And then there was that matter of Kuminga not getting enough playing time.

With Green’s suspensions coming in like piping hot bread, the 21-year-old saw the 4x champion’s role relegated to him. And although he showcased a brilliant outing, it didn’t stick. That, of course, led to trade rumors surfacing and the lot. The fact of the matter was that both the men did not have a good start. Kuminga said as much in an interview with Whitley Sandretto of 95.7 The Game.

From conflict to trust: Jonathan Kuminga opens up on building a bond with Draymond Green

“When I first got here, you know, it was always just more about Draymond yelling at me sometimes,” he revealed. And that wasn’t how JK approached relationships. Or, more specifically, it wasn’t the way to build a trust with the young forward.

“I am the type of person, I don’t talk much until I know what you’re about. I just stay back. I just watch and observe and pay attention. A lot of people might think I don’t talk very much, but that’s not it, you know? I observe more, but when I feel like I could talk or I’m comfortable, I could do that you know and I had to observe Draymond,” he explained.

And what did Jonathan Kuminga find when he took his time to observe? Only good things. Once Jonathan managed to look past the 6’6, 230-pound player with a fiery temper and actions to back it up, the young Warrior found that the older man “was just trying to help” him. And Green did so by taking a genuine interest in JK’s life outside of just basketball.

“It was about us hanging out, communicate, talking about things that ain’t basketball. Families, ‘How was your kids?’ ‘What you been doing?’ ‘What you been out to?’ And I feel like that’s even more how you create a relation with somebody,” Kuminga pointed out. Dray’s influence, though, extended to the court, too.

“Just watching him, watching how he plays. [And once] I start getting chances, starting playing alongside of him and Steph and things just start clicking. I just start learning how to play. Sometimes I’ll take what I got to do and just trust those two. Trust Draymond, because he always told me, ‘Don’t worry. Just trust me. You going to get it, whatever you want.'”

“And that’s how we just create that trust in each other. Since then, I have been comfortable around Draymond. He’s a guy who could be whatever and I could call him up, ‘Yo! I heard you somewhere. Let me pull up.’ That’s our relationship,” Jonathan Kuminga said, finishing his story on a beautiful note. 

Interestingly, the pair’s relationship had started way before Kuminga was drafted as the No. 7 pick in 2021.

Draymond Green made good on his word to his mentor and Warriors owner

Former Warrior and Dray’s “vet” Jarrett Jack was who first brought his attention to Jonathan Kuminga. Even when the Dubs former GM, Bob Myers was hesitant in drafting the Congolese native, it was Draymond who urged him to pick JK. “You knew the gift was there. … And for me, having Jarrett Jack telling me he’s good, that means a lot,” the 4x champion told ESPN’s Kendra Andrews in March.

The franchise saw how brilliant the decision to hire Kuminga was. He had a solid rookie season, playing 70 games, of which 12 were starts. And Kuminga averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting a splendid 51.3% from the field and 33.6% from the deep. But his breakout season came in 2023-34 where he dropped 16.1 points per game – a 6.2 point jump from the past season!

But Green was once again approached with a request to take Kuminga under his wing. And this time, it was Joe Lacob. After the pair agreed on a new 4-year deal, Dray recalled what Lacob asked of him. “Joe said, ‘I know you’re going to play and lead and all of that, but I need one more thing. I need you to take JK under your wing.’ I said, ‘You got my word.’ …To me, that was a condition of the contract.”

When Monte said that Green was going to be a problem, he also mentioned that it “can only be fixed by Draymond.” Looking at things now, would you say that Draymond succeeded?