Draymond Green Says Jonathan Kuminga 'Not The F--king A--hole' Fans Make Him Out to Be

Draymond Green says the Golden State Warriors' reasons for benching Jonathan Kuminga ahead of Wednesday's matchup with the San Antonio Spurs are being mischaracterized.

Kuminga, who was in the starting lineup for the Warriors' first dozen games, came off the bench in the first half of Wednesday's loss.

He ultimately sat out the second half due to what the team labeled as "knee soreness" and was later identified by The Athletic's Anthony Slater as bilateral knee tendinitis.

"How about this? JK's been one of the most bought-in guys on the team, all year," Green said at the 10:00 mark of Friday's episode of the Draymond Green Show. "How about that?... He's not the f--king a--hole and baby that y'all try to make him out to be, and think he's always complaining."

Green continued, "You speak on accepting a role. JK has made it very clear: He wants to be an All-Star. He thinks he has All-Star potential and he wants to fulfill that. He's made that very clear, 1,000 percent. We all know that.

"So, when you feel like things aren't quite going that way, to align like that, you're going to be upset as a competitor, of course. Kid works his ass off, of course you're going to feel some time of way. Who would want someone who doesn't feel any type of way?"

Green hasn't spoken that positively about all of his teammates during the early stretch of the 2025-26 season. He told reporters after Wednesday's loss he doesn't feel all of his teammates are "committed to winning and doing that in any way possible."

According to Green, Kuminga has been dealing with knee tendonitis as far back as before Monday's matchup at the Oklahoma City Warriors.

Warriors medical staffers were still evaluating Kuminga's availability as late as Wednesday's pregame warmups, Green added.

"But of course, people are going to create drama and say, 'Kuminga didn't come out after halftime because he was mad he didn't play,'" Green said. "But unfortunately, guys, I lived this thing. So, I know a few more things that y'all don't know. And I know JK was questionable because his knees were sore before OKC."

Kuminga spent most of the offseason in limbo as an unsigned restricted free agent before and the Warriors agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal with a second-year team option at the end of September.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported at the time the option was "designed for the Warriors -- or another team if and when Kuminga is traded during the upcoming season -- to rip up and complete a fresh new contract after the 2025-26 campaign."

Kuminga had been averaging 14.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game through his first 12 games on that new deal. He is set to miss Friday night's road game against the Spurs with his knee injury.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters Thursday he plans for Moses Moody and Will Richard to start going forward. How the team performs with Kuminga on the sideline could potentially influence how big of a role Kerr gives him when he is able to return from injury.