The Warriors’ championship hopes heavily rely on their veteran core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. But according to Jeff Teague, only one of these players is currently holding them back from winning it all.
On the latest episode of the Club 520 podcast, Jeff Teague claimed that ever since the Warriors moved Draymond Green to the center position, they have lost their championship contention effectively. He went as far as to say that the former Defensive Player of the Year can no longer guard conventional big men like Nikola Jokic.
“I think they’ve got to get a big with that small ball lineup. I’m a fan of Draymond, but I just don’t think that’s going to hold up anymore. He can’t guard Jokic and all them dudes for a long period of time.”
“There are too many people out west… I heard about Al [Horford] ..But I just don’t think that can hold up anymore. Jimmy is playing the four, all that small stuff. Not with OKC having Chet at the four and whoever they want to play at the five, or they just got too many options.”
“I think Steph Curry is still one of the greatest. I think he’s still going to be able to lead a team and take over. I think Jimmy still has that mode, too. But after that, they get kind of spooky.”
Draymond Green is six feet nine inches tall and conventionally a power forward. But following their championship season in 2022, the Warriors essentially put him in a position where he had to play at the center position on several occasions after they moved away from Kevon Looney as a starter.
The transition to a small-ball lineup for the Warriors began when they signed Chris Paul in 2023, and they seem to have never pivoted back since then. They drafted a conventional seven-foot big man in James Wiseman, but eventually traded him away as well.
They also drafted Trayce Jackson-Davis, a six-foot-nine-inch power forward who often plays the center position as well in their small-ball setup. Therefore, they seemed committed to that style of play, which is counterproductive in Teague’s opinion.
The Warriors have been on the precipice of signing Al Horford for weeks now. Once they figure out the Jonathan Kuminga contract extension situation, they are expected to make three veteran additions to the roster. Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II could be announced as Warriors players around Labor Day (September 1).
In my opinion, the Warriors need to listen to Teague on this. They need to figure out an alternative role for Draymond Green on the roster, or an even better situation would be to trade him for some young talent or draft assets if possible.
The key to the Warriors’ 2022 championship run was their young core of Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga. They need some young players to drive the energy on the court and make a difference like they did in 2022.
