Dub Hub: Draymond Green has All-Star expectations for Jonathan Kuminga

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Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Thursday, October 17th.

In today's Dub Hub:

• Draymond Green tells NBC Sports Bay Area's Kerith Burke about his All-Star expectations for Jonathan Kuminga.
• ESPN has Steph Curry sixth on their annual Top 100 NBA Players Rankings.
• Bulls' Lonzo Ball scores 10 points in first game back after an 18-month rehab for a knee injury.

Golden State Warriors' power forward Draymond Green is setting high expectations for his teammate Jonathan Kuminga. Green wants Kuminga to be an All-Star in his now fourth season in the NBA and explains what the 22-year-old must do to make that a reality in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area's Kerith Burke.

Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

"Score the basketball," Green added about Kuminga to Burke. "[He] has to be a great scorer. He needs to be above 20 points per game, six [to] seven rebounds a night, and we need to win. Especially if you want to become a first-time All-Star. We know what he's capable of and we believe in him.

"Anything less than an All-Star is a failure for him."

After showing flashes of his scoring ability last year, Kuminga is expected to take on a bigger role this upcoming season. Through five preseason games, he is averaging 13 points in 21.9 minutes per game, second-most on the team behind only Moses Moody. He's also shooting 47.6% from three on 4.2 attempts per game. If that efficiency carries over into the regular season, Kuminga may just meet Green's All-Star expectations of him.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Thursday, October 17th:

Warriors News:

Why Green gives Kuminga 'All-Star' expectations for this season | NBC Sports Bay Area

Kuminga himself doesn't mind the high expectations Green placed on him. Instead, the 22-year-old embraces them.

"It means a lot," Kuminga told Burke at media day when asked about Green's praise. "Draymond is that one guy that believes in me. [Green] always trusts me.

"I had to earn his respect. Draymond's not going to give you those types of props if you don't show it. For him to believe in you, you have to show him you can do it. [It] motivated me to have a great summer to make him proud. He's always pushing me, helping me [and] guiding me."

Warriors' rookies sing for the Chase Center crowd during the team's annual open practice

NBA Rank 2024: Rankings for the top 10 players in the league | ESPN

6. Stephen Curry, G, Golden State Warriors

2023 Rank: 5

Why he fell 1 spot: If Curry's ranking were based on his performance in his first Olympics this summer, the 16-year veteran probably would have climbed this list. But last season, Curry's average assists (5.1) and steals (0.7) were at a career low and his 45% field goal shooting was his third worst. It's impossible to say Curry had a "bad season"; he led the league in points (189), made field goals (59) and 3-pointers (32) in the clutch on his way to being named Clutch Player of the Year. He also led the league with 357 3-pointers. But the Warriors' lack of depth was apparent in the postseason as they failed to make it past the first leg of the play-in tournament.

How an 80-year-old basketball Hall of Famer thrives as a pickleball contender | The Athletic

To no one's surprise, Barry is now certifiably excellent. He advanced quickly in pickleball because of his hand-eye coordination, rangy 6-foot-7 frame and cutthroat competitive streak.

Do opponents recognize him? The older players do, Barry said, and they often want to take a photo.

"The younger people don't know who the hell I am," he added.

Barry ranks among the nation's top age-group players and earned the Triple Crown at the U.S. Open in Naples, Fla., in April. He won the men's 80-plus singles title, the men's 80-plus doubles title with partner Fred Shuey and the mixed doubles 80-plus title with Susan Mathews.

Imagining a 4-Team Trade to Land Jimmy Butler with the Warriors | Bleacher Report

Warriors get:

Jimmy Butler (from Heat)

Anton Watson (from Celtics)

Heat get:

Andrew Wiggins (from Warriors)

Jonathan Kuminga (from Warriors)

$14.9M trade exception (Butler)

Pistons get:

Kevon Looney (from Warriors)

Gary Payton II (from Warriors)

Atlanta Hawks 2026 second-rounder (from Warriors)

Los Angeles Lakers 2026 second-rounder (from Heat)

Atlanta Hawks 2028 second-rounder (from Warriors)

$2.5 million (from Warriors)

$1.5 million (from Heat)

Celtics get:

$1.1 million (from the Heat)

NBA News:

Lonzo Ball scores 10 in return, reflects on rehab: 'All behind me now' | ESPN

"Long. Really long," Ball said with a laugh of his recovery process. "But looking back on it, it went a lot faster than I thought. ... Them telling me 18 more months recovery [after the third surgery], it sounds crazy in the moment, but now I'm here. It's all behind me now."

Earlier Wednesday, Ball said he was "full of joy" to be preparing for a game again but also acknowledged he would not be the same player he was when he last took the court for a game.

"It's not the same body I started off with," Ball said after Wednesday's shootaround. "But I think I can still be productive and effective on the court. That's why I'm still trying to play."

Why the Bucks believe they'll be better: Motivation, peace and the power of Doc (and talk) | The Athletic

As a Bucks staffer walks by, Antetokounmpo grabs the man by the shoulder and asks a remarkably pointed question.

"If we don't win this year, would you get fired?" Antetokounmpo asks with a wry smile to his co-worker. "Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, '(What) if this year doesn't go well?' Yeah, if we don't win a championship, I might get traded. Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we're living in. It's everybody."

It was heavy and humorous all at once, even more so when Antetokounmpo pulled a similar prank on Bucks general manager Jon Horst on his way out of the gym after the interview. From top to bottom, in other words, heads could roll here if it doesn't go well. Or, heads could at least relocate.

Thunder's Isaiah Hartenstein will miss five-to-six weeks due to left hand fracture

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

On Moses Moody proving he's ready to move up — by literally moving around

The swing skill — the one trait that was thought to make or break Moody's fate in the league — is three-point shooting. In limited minutes during his rookie season (11.7), Moody put up 2.1 three-point attempts per game and shot 36.4% on them; he averaged virtually the same number of attempts (2.1) and same percentage (36.3%) during his sophomore campaign (13.0 mins per game). Last season saw a slight increase in minutes (17.5) and three-point volume (3.0), but the percentage stayed largely the same (36.0%).

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