https://sports.yahoo.com/why-warriors-jamychal-green-signing-170000888.html

Why Warriors' JaMychal Green signing was 'critical' in free agency

Dalton Johnson
Wed, September 28, 2022 at 1:00 PM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Before Andre Iguodala officially returned to the
Warriors to wrap up his storied career that has lasted nearly two
decades, the Warriors' bench going into the 2022-23 NBA season wasn't
exactly rife with experience.

Including rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, that unit
consists of one 19-year-old, three 20-year-olds and a 21-year-old who
missed all of last season. It will be led by a 23-year-old expected to
solidify himself as a star. The average age of players Steve Kerr can
pluck from the bench before Iguodala's final decision was 22.5 years old.

Between eight players, the group's average years of NBA experience
pre-Iguodala was 2.25 years.

That's what makes the Warriors' JaMychal Green signing over the
offseason so important. The pups badly needed a big dog to guide the
pack on the road to repeating as champions.

"Thrilled to have JaMychal," Kerr said last week at Chase Center before
training camp began. "I thought Otto Porter and [Nemanja] Bjelica last
year were such important pieces to our team. Veteran players who just
knew how to play the game. Good shooters, smart screeners, rebounders
and that's how I view JaMychal. He's really an accomplished player.

"And especially given all the youth on our team coming off the bench, I
viewed JaMychal as a critical addition to our team, so really excited to
have him."

Over the offseason, the Warriors lost plenty of experience that their
high-potential bench just doesn't have. Porter is 29, is entering his
10th seasons and has made the playoffs five times. Bjelica is 34, first
turned pro back in 2007 in Austria, played seven seasons in the NBA and
made the playoffs three times. Damion Lee turns 30 next month and is
starting his sixth NBA season. Juan Toscano-Anderson and Gary Payton II
both are 29, with Payton turning 30 in December. They've seen it all and
became champions as Warriors.

They're gone, all five of them. The Warriors' second unit very well
could be better this season and has more top-end talent on paper. But
Golden State was left with a gaping hole of grit, know-how and earned
wisdom on the hardwood.

Green is 32 years old. He's entering his ninth NBA season and has made
the playoffs seven times. The Warriors have eyed him for much longer
than this past offseason, and are well familiar with what he brings to
the table.

The Warriors have faced Green 23 times in the regular season, and in
three different playoff series. Back in 2019, a season where he averaged
9.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 40.4 percent on
threes, Green went 12-for-23 from 3-point range (52.2 percent) for the
L.A. Clippers against the Warriors in the first round of the Western
Conference playoffs. For the series, he averaged 11.0 points and 5.3
rebounds per game.

All that sounds fine and dandy. Back to healthy from a wrist injury he
dealt with last season in Denver, Green should be able to shoot the ball
from deep much better than his 26.6 percent clip and a lot closer to his
36.6 career percentage beyond the arc -- especially with the open looks
he'll get in the Warriors' offense. And it's not close to the main
reason the Warriors signed him to a one-year, $2.6 million contract.

Once he gets his feet wet and feels more comfortable in Kerr's system,
Green's teaching of all the small things and leading his young teammates
by example should happen seamlessly.

"It's weird being the new guy," Green said Sunday during Warriors Media
Day. "Being real quiet right now until I break the ice. Other than that,
man, I feel like I fit in great.

"They play hard. They get after teams. Didn't realize how great of a
defensive team this was. So just a hard-nosed team and they play the
right way."

Upon his arrival, Green mentioned multiple times at his introductory
press conference that he's here to be a dog. The Warriors lost a piece
of that from their heart and soul this offseason, and the Alabama native
is ready to patch up any holes left behind.

From his playing days to his coaching career, Kerr knows exactly how
important that is. Between JaMychal and Draymond Green, Kerr might have
to corral The Bay's latest edition of the Bash Brothers, too.

"It's going to be fun," JaMychal said of playing with Draymond, someone
who he first played with in eighth grade on the AAU circuit. "We're
going to get under a lot of people's skin. Going to be a lot of trash
talking. There's going to be a lot of bumping.

"That's what I live for. I love it."