When the Golden State Warriors agreed to acquire Andrew Wiggins in exchange for D'Angelo Russell, basketball fans were quick to envision a disastrous relationship between Wiggins and Draymond Green. However, Green has been nothing but complimentary of Wiggins - at least, so far.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Green defended the 24-year old forward, saying he's "not a fucking bum."
“It’s not like we gotta take his hand and walk him through. This guy’s averaged 20 points in this league for three, four years. It’s not a fucking bum we’re talking about. I’m not gonna sit here and act like we found some diamond in the rough.”
In fact, Draymond views Wiggins as a guy who could be an All-Defensive player on the Warriors. When asked specifically about Wiggins' defensive potential, Green told The Athletic's Anthony Slater:
“I think he can be an All-Defensive player. That’s one of my goals for him. As a leader of this team, that’s one of the things I really want to push him on. He has all the tools, has the tools, the athleticism. Reminds me a lot of Kevin [Durant] as a defender, where they’re both long and lanky, but agile. Can move. Very skinny guys, but not weak. From that aspect, he remind me a lot of Kevin. And Kevin is a great defender. So if he can continue to build off that … which I think he can. The couple games that he’s been here I’ve seen him match up with some pretty good guys and he’s shown a lot of promise on that side of the ball. Defensive end, I think he can be really, really good.”
In his three games with Golden State prior to the All Star break, Wiggins averaged 23 points, four assists and 2.3 steals per game. The Warriors will return to the court on Thursday night as they host the Houston Rockets in a game that will air on TNT starting at 10:30pm ET.