Draymond Green: Kyrie Irving is the scorer that everyone thinks Kevin Durant is

Vereen shared that insight with Draymond Green, who then started to check in on Jonathan Kuminga. Sometimes it would be in the locker room or on the team bus and plane. In other cases, it was a text message. The conversations ranged from simply asking about one another, to discussing family or life advice. “I identify with him in the sense that he takes care of everyone — his whole family. You can tell he is the head, and I can identify with that,” Green said. “Twenty-one years old, that pressure, I feel that. Through identifying that and understanding that, I just really want to help.” “[Green] was one of those people who knew me, but never knew me like that,” Kuminga said. “It took him a long time, but he just started checking in every other day. “He’d ask me questions that weren’t related to basketball. … He took that time to get to know me and that really bridged our relationship from just work to personal.” -via ESPN / March 18, 2024

But it didn’t matter to Green, who often sits in on the Warriors’ draft meetings and prospects’ workouts. He texted Myers and urged him to pick Kuminga. “You knew the gift was there,” Green said of Kuminga. “He would just need a few years. And for me, having Jarrett Jack telling me he’s good, that means a lot.” But Kuminga didn’t initially take to Green’s form of mentorship — at least not enough for the longtime vocal leader of the Warriors. “You get to a place in your career where you’ve accomplished X, you’ve accomplished Y and Z,” Green said, “so he should just listen to me. It’s a slap in the face for me, not in a negative way, just like ‘Wake up, you’re not listening.'” -via ESPN / March 18, 2024

Last June, Green sat on his phone in Paris with team owner Joe Lacob on the other end. Green had just agreed to a new four-year deal, but Lacob had one more contingency that wouldn’t show up in the paperwork. “Joe said, ‘I know you’re going to play and lead and all of that, but I need one more thing,'” Green recalled. “He said ‘I need you to take JK under your wing. “I said, ‘You got my word …To me, that was a condition of the contract.” -via ESPN / March 18, 2024

Clutch Points: “I’ve been kinda disappointed in KD’s team success… He says why isn’t he mentioned in the GOAT conversation… if we put [Kevin Durant] at the same standard as we do Steph and LeBron, he just hasn’t met those requirements.” – Paul Pierce pic.twitter.com/WW9nGGxLY5 -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / March 18, 2024

Kevin Durant enters Wednesday’s game against the 76ers (10 ET, League Pass) needing 9 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. -via NBA.com / March 18, 2024

Duane Rankin: “Grayson took my spot scoring. I had to do other shit. We got ourselves back in the game.” Kevin Durant 11 points, took 1 shot in 4th of #Suns loss to #Bucks. “Defensively, we lost this game. My shot attempts, my points, I know it’s a talking point but we scored enough points.” pic.twitter.com/cH1YcXKC3h -via Twitter @DuaneRankin / March 17, 2024

Run It Back: “[Kyrie Irving] was the 2014 World Cup MVP, he was on the 2016 Olympic team that won gold medal. I think that he’s going to be a name to continue to monitor for Team USA.” @ShamsCharania on Kyrie Irving. -via Twitter / March 19, 2024

NBA Communications: Other nominees... West: Deandre Ayton (POR), Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving (DAL), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC), Domantas Sabonis (SAC) and Zion Williamson (NOP) East: Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson (MIA), Paolo Banchero (ORL), Darius Garland (CLE), Tyrese Maxey (PHI), Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner (IND) and Jayson Tatum (BOS) -via Twitter / March 18, 2024

Dave McMenamin: Spencer Dinwiddie called Kyrie Irving’s shot against Denver “the coldest game winner I’ve seen” -via Twitter @mcten / March 18, 2024