“We are going to win the championship. It’s going to happen.” Confident in his roster following the addition of Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green made a bold claim on Live TV during the All-Star Weekend. Well, the Warriors are a long way from living up to that claim, as they are currently stuck at the tenth seed in the West. Moreover, one of their stars, Jonathan Kuminga, has been out with a right ankle sprain since January. Obviously, the Bay Area franchise needs JK back for a better shot at winning the title. But the latest update on his health does not bring much relief to the team.

As per the Warriors’ report, Kuminga finally made his return to team practice earlier today at Chase Center. This was his first time in practice since sustaining the injury on January 4 during a game against the Grizzlies. While that is great news, there is still no set timeline for the forward’s return to Steve Kerr’s lineup. Turns out, the team is still assessing his continued progress and physical readiness, which means he could remain sidelined for a few more weeks, or maybe more.

By then, it might be too late to salvage the Warriors’ season. Even Kerr predicted this outcome before heading into the All-Star break: “I wouldn’t anticipate him playing those first few games right after the break.” Obviously, JK’s prolonged absence has been a huge blow for the team as he is one of their key players, averaging 16.8 points and five rebounds.

As expected, this leaves Kerr with a major headache amid the pressure of living up to Draymond’s claim. Sure enough, Green received a ton of backlash from the hoop community after he assured winning a championship this year. While the Warriors have looked good since Jimmy joined the team, they are currently struggling to stay in the playoff race. And with Kuminga out for a significant period, a championship seems like a far-fetched dream. But amid the backlash, Stephen Curry is optimistic just like Draymond.

Stephen Curry credits Draymond Green for “Lighting a fire” with Championship claim

While the fans were not pleased with Draymond’s TNT comments, his running mate Steph took it as a motivation for the rest of the season. “I’m excited. I got Draymond on the telecast guaranteeing we’re winning a championship. I love the expectations and having something to play for. He’s lighting a fire, for sure.”

Obviously, Draymond and Steph understand that this run with Butler might be their last shot at adding another banner to the Warriors’ rafters. As both stars play through lingering injuries in the final leg of their illustrious career, the desperation to win is more than ever. Draymond even revealed the emotional conversation he had with Curry following the Butler trade, “Steph, he looked like he got belief. After the trade, he looked at me and said, ‘Man, it’s crazy because it just dawned on me that like, this is it. Like this is… This is the last run. Last run.’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s ride until the wheels fall off.’ It was an emotional moment.”

Surely, they would be hoping that Kuminga returns soon so that they can be completely healthy for the second half and give maximum effort to achieve the championship dream. Do you think the Warriors can do justice to Draymond’s controversial claim?