There is always a lot of attention put on the Golden State Warriors. They are one of the best teams in the NBA and garner a lot of attention with their performance on the court. The last few weeks, however, headlines have been filled with things no team wants to deal with.
The physical altercation at practice between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole was a black eye for the organization. Green struck his teammate after a heated verbal exchange, something virtually everyone believes was crossing a line by the veteran.
Green has since apologized and everyone is looking to move past the incident, but that is something that could linger forever. Overcoming adversity isn’t anything new for the Warriors, as Green was involved in an incident with Kevin Durant during his last season with the franchise as well.
Another thing that flew under the radar recently when it comes to the Warriors is comments that Stephen A. Smith made about one of their young players, Jonathan Kuminga. During an episode of First Take on ESPN, Smith revealed some defamatory remarks about the second-year Warriors forward.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Jonathan Kuminga & Golden State Warriors Updates
Smith hinted that one of his sources shared that there are questions about Kuminga’s character. His discipline, attitude, level of focus, commitment and determination were all questioned by Smith on national television via the person in the know that he talks to. It is something that Kuminga recently responded to.
“Man, I don’t know where he got that information,” Kuminga said when asked last week. “I never worry about it. I never respond to it. I never want to talk about it. It’s just wasting my energy. I never worry about what Stephen A. or whoever say. Because he gets paid to talk about people. I don’t blame him. I don’t complain about it. Because at the end of the day, I know what I do and what I don’t.”
That is the kind of response rarely given by a young player, but Kuminga has a great supporting cast around him in Golden State that most certainly prepped him on how to respond and carry himself. Veteran Andre Iguodala and head coach Steve Kerr both publicly went to bat for Kuminga before his statement was made as well.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Jonathan Kuminga & Golden State Warriors Updates
What would possess Smith to make remarks that nature, unprompted, is anyone’s guess. As Kuminga pointed out, he is paid to talk about people on television. While this isn’t as big of news as a punch being thrown at practice, it was yet another challenge the franchise had to navigate as public perception can change in an instant in the age of social media.
