NEXT GENERATION IS TAKING SHAPE
Kerr says Juan Toscano-Anderson reminds him of a mini Draymond Green
Part of sustained success in the NBA is finding new talent to replace old talent. For proof, just look to the Spurs, who for 19 years supported franchise cornerstone Tim Duncan with an ever-changing group of teammates that went to the playoffs every season and won five Finals. For every David Robinson, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili who aged out of his prime, players such as Bruce Bowen, Patty Mills, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard were waiting to step up.
Evidence is piling up that the Warriors may be facing a similar crossroads. Specifically, when it comes to Draymond Green and his potential replacement, Juan Toscano-Anderson.
Green’s numbers reflect a player on the downslope of his career. His shooting clips from 2-point range (43%) and 3-point range (35.9%) haven’t been this bad since his rookie season, and his low conversion rate at the
rim (57%) and block rate (0.7 blocks per game) indicate declining athleticism. He has grown increasingly averse to scoring, perhaps most glaringly revealed when he didn’t even bother to so much as look at the rim on Golden State’s final possession in a loss to the Magic last week.
That said, Green still has a net positive impact on the Warriors. His passing helps spring Steph Curry open more times than not, and his leadership on defense is irreplaceable.
“I know the numbers may not show it and everybody wants to focus on shooting and scoring and so on, but the fact is, he’s had a hell of a year,” head coach Steve Kerr said Monday. “He’s really played well for us, helped us win a lot of games. He’s the main reason we have the fifth-ranked defense in the league.”
But if this is Green days before he turns 31, the Warriors need to ask themselves what Green may look like when he’s 32 and 33. If Curry is still squarely in his prime at that time — as those around him believe he will be — can Green play a major role on a championship contender as he moves further into the twilight of his career?
The Warriors have heard the chatter about potentially trading Green. That’s a non-starter. With three years left on his contract that will pay him $24 million, $25.8 million and $27.5 million (player option), few teams would be willing to take him on. Only teams with incumbent superstars looking for the final piece of their championship puzzle have much use for Green at this stage of his career, and Golden State isn’t trading its emotional leader to a direct competitor.
There’s value in Green’s institutional knowledge and in keeping culture-setters around but, as Green ages, his minutes could be reduced. That would leave a void for Toscano-Anderson, who Kerr says reminds him of a “mini version of Draymond” because of his impressive basketball instincts.
“Juan is good in any combination because of his feel and awareness — he ties every lineup together,” Kerr said Monday. “He’s going to be playing with energy, he’s going to be handling the ball, passing it, setting screens.”
Their similarities are striking. Like Green, Toscano-Anderson is listed at 6-foot-6, can defend bigger players and has an uncanny ability to anticipate the game. When Toscano-Anderson is on the court, he sets screens, moves the ball and runs the floor. To steal Kerr’s term, the offense has more “flow.”
“He just recognizes patterns in the game,” Kerr said of Toscano-Anderson. “And so he might make that cut that opens up a jump shot for Damion Lee. Somebody else might not do that and the offense might not flow as smoothly.”
Unlike Green, Toscano-Anderson is only 27 and playing the best basketball of his career after years toiling on professional basketball’s fringes. With the Warriors’ frontcourt thinned by injuries to centers James Wiseman (wrist) and Kevon Looney (ankle) over the last 2 ½ weeks, Toscano-Anderson became Golden State’s starting power forward. In the last 10 games, he’s averaging 8.5 points on 54.3% shooting (45.5% from 3-point range), 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.4 minutes as he carves out a place in the Warriors’ long-term plans.
This is a testament to the work Toscano-Anderson put in over the offseason. When teammates were practicing dribble moves and stepback jumpers, Toscano-Anderson was tediously working with assistant coaches Aaron Miles and Ron Adams to rebuild his shooting form. He was also drilled in the finer points of the game, such as how to be efficient with his movements on defense and where Curry likes to get the ball on offense.
When Green missed last week’s win over the Heat, Toscano-Anderson stepped in and tallied six assists as one of Golden State’s lead playmakers.
Even when Wiseman and Looney return to the lineup, Toscano-Anderson will have a role, potentially in a closing lineup with Curry, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andrew Wiggins and Green. That group in 125 minutes is outscoring opponents by 5.2 points per 100 possessions.
“It has always been an advantage to play with a guy like that,” Toscano-Anderson said of Green. “I can see why Klay, Steph and all the guys who play with Draymond love him.”