Getty Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors steals the ball from JaMychal Green #4 of the LA Clippers in the first half during Game Six of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 26, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Although JaMychal Green agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors back on July 19, it was not official until August 1.
After being dealt from the Denver Nuggets to Oklahoma City, he agreed to a buyout with the Thunder and gave the Dubs his word that he would sign with them.
Green is an eight-year veteran and has been through the foxhole with numerous playoff teams in his career. He has played in 49 career postseason games in 16.7 minutes per game, chipping in with 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds a game.
He spent the last two seasons with Denver, the team the Warriors took care of in the first round last season. Green was primarily a backup behind Aaron Gordon and occasionally Michael Porter Jr., and he will look to continue his reserve role with the Dubs.
He is currently slated to take departing Nemanja Bjelica’s backup power forward role behind Draymond Green.
During his introductory press conference, he had some interesting words in regards to helping his Green counterpart.
“Just come in and play hard,” Green said. “Be a dog. Do the dirty work—help Draymond out with the dirty work. Knock down shots and play defense. I feel like if you come here and handle your business, you set yourself up for life.”
“When you come here and handle business, you can set yourself up for life.”
Just as Andrew Wiggins mentioned after the season and Donte DiVincenzo mentioned when he signed with GSW, JaMychal Green echoed a similar sentiment.
I asked JG about how players perceive the GSWs.
This is probably music to Draymond’s ears, and do not be surprised if he talks about that in an upcoming episode of the “Draymond Green Show” podcast.
Warriors Culture is what Bought JaMychal Green to Bay Area
As Warriors reporter Jason Dumas observes, Green is hoping to make next season a memorable one. Playing for the Warriors is one of the best opportunities to win a ring, especially if you are a role player.
This runs in line with a lot of players wanting to come to Golden State and win a ring no matter the role. David West, Andre Iguodala, Javale McGee, and Shaun Livingston are some other names that come to mind that did just that.
Green admitted that head coach Steve Kerr reached out to him and wanted him to be a Warrior. It did not take much after to convince the forward to join the Dubs.
“After talking with him, I just couldn’t tell him no,” Green said. “With the organization and what they built over, I just felt that I’d love to be part of it.”
Green Isn’t Worried About His Shaky Shooting
The new Warrior brings an entirely different set of skills that Bjelica bought last season. Bjelica was known to be a shooter, while Green runs more in line with the old-school, hard-nosed big man who defends and rebounds.
Teams will dare Green to shoot from three, as he only shot 26.6% last season, an outlier compared to his career average of 36.6%. However, Green chalks that up to an ongoing wrist issue he dealt with last season.
“Toward the end of the season I just stopped shooting, period,” Green admits during his press conference.
During his five-game stint against the Warriors in the playoffs last season, he only averaged one three-point shot a game.
“It’s all about rest and confidence,” Green continues. “As long as I get my reps in this summer, I’ll be good to go. I was just fighting through some things last year… it’s going to get up.”