Steve Kerr raised a lot of eyebrows after his recent comments about Jonathan Kuminga.
The Warriors coach, speaking to Tim Kawakami on "The TK Show," acknowledged Kuminga is gifted and wants to play a larger role with Golden State but admitted the fit is tricky specifically with the Warriors due to the offense running through Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
"Jonathan is obviously talented and eager to step into a larger role with more minutes," Kerr told Kawakami. "But my mandate is to win. Right now, with our lineup — Steph, Jimmy, Draymond — I'm not comfortable playing Jonathan 38 minutes and banking on a win."
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE Like a majority of the NBA world, Green weighed in on Kerr's frank comments during the latest "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis" and explained why he doesn't necessarily agree with his coach.
"When I look at that statement, I take a couple things away from that statement," Green said. "One being he said with this roster we have. He didn't say Jonathan Kuminga can't play 38 minutes anywhere and be a successful player and be an impactful player. That's not what he said. He said with this roster.
"Now, do I agree with that? I don't know that I necessarily agree because we just haven't seen it. So I'm not of the mindset that something just doesn't work that you haven't had the chance to see much of."
While Green doesn't agree, he did acknowledge that he believes Kerr will do whatever it takes to win.
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
"But also in saying that, when you look at Steve, one thing that he's shown as a coach is he's going to make the decision that's best regardless of what it comes with," he said. "We're talking about the same man -- the same legend -- that didn't play Jayson Tatum in the Olympics and dealt with all the flak that came with that, but at the end, to his point, his ultimate goal is to win. And they won the gold medal.
"So here, I understand what he's saying. I don't necessarily agree because we just haven't seen it and seen much of it to actually know if it does work."
Kuminga's future with the Warriors is unknown as he is set to enter restricted free agency this offseason.
Green wants the best for his 22-year-old mentee, even if that's elsewhere.
"If you're JK, you got to make the best decision for you," he said. "You got to try to put yourself in the best position you could possibly put yourself in. So I wouldn't get caught up Steve said this, Steve said that. ... Free agency is happening. You got to go into free agency. You got to figure out what's going to work for you."