Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has often mentored and given advice to rookie James Wiseman this season. The role is one Green enjoys taking on, but his guidance isn’t just limited to Wiseman as another rookie on the team recently revealed.
Warriors second-round pick Nico Mannion, who just re-joined the team from the NBA G League, said on Wednesday that Green watched a few of his games with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the bubble. Green would often check in with Mannion and offer tips in certain game situations.
“Draymond texted me a couple of times and just gave me some feedback,” Mannion said. “He was watching some of the games and would send me clips here and there. (He would) ask me questions on what I saw and what he saw.”
Mannion, who was the 48th overall pick, appeared in nine games with Santa Cruz, averaging 19.3 points, 6.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 33.1 minutes per game. He missed two games due to an ankle injury but averaged 21.3 points over his last three games.
The Warriors initially planned on having Mannion stay with Santa Cruz for the entirety of the 15-game season. However, with the G League season nearly over, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr opted to have Mannion join the team prior to the All-Star break.
The bubble gave Mannion an opportunity to log heavy minutes seemingly for the first time since playing at Arizona last season. He had played sparingly with Golden State before his assignment but returns to the team now with some experience against current and former NBA players.
Although Mannion was away from Golden State, having the chance to talk to Green meant a lot to him to know that one of the leaders on the team was keeping up with him.
“I think that is huge from a guy like that,” Mannion said. “The leader of the team is reaching out — it means a lot. It’s cool to see guys like that are up here that are still watching and having your back in a way. That was dope.”
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!