Green Supports Mannion's "Chess Move" to Italy on Social Media


Born in Siena, Italy, Nico Mannion decided to return home Tuesday following a year in the NBA, agreeing to a multi-season deal with Virtus Bologna of the Serie A Basketball League.

And his now-former teammate Draymond Green was cheerleading the guard’s decision to leave the Warriors, highlighting the benefits for Mannion’s career and rejecting critics saying the one-time Arizona backcourt player made the wrong choice.

“The terrible side of this business is that none of these ‘handlers’ will show this to a kid and discuss how great of a move this is by Nico,” Green said on his Instagram story Tuesday. “Quite frankly because these kids listen to people that a’int done s— and don’t know s—!”


Inked to a two-way contract last season after being taken 48th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, the former Wildcat appeared in only 30 of Golden State’s 72 games last season, averaging 12.1 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. Mannion got his most substantial run in last season’s G League bubble, averaging 19.3 points and 6.9 assists in 33.1 minutes of play for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

It needs to be noted Mannion is not giving up on his NBA career with this decision, rather is just potentially putting it on hold – the Warriors retain the NBA rights to Mannion should he decide to leave his flexible deal with Virtus Bologna, which allows the young guard to work on his craft on the other side of the Atlantic while getting himself off of Golden State’s payroll for years to come.

According to Jason Dumas of Kron4News and Bleacher Report, Mannion is likely to get more playing time at a high level of professional basketball, allowing him to work on his game with the option in his back pocket to return to the Warriors if and when he is ready. This is exactly Green’s point, that there is a successful path from Europe to the association, and it has worked out for others in the past – just ask Patrick Beverley or Nikola Mirotić.

Yet Green is seeing criticism for a move which is seemingly mutually beneficial for Golden State and Mannion, so he continued to show support for the 20-year-old via his Instagram story.

“They want the kid in the league at all costs, so they can get what they ‘think’ is more for themselves,” Green said. “Don’t let this go over y’all’s heads….”

Green seems to want Mannion and players like him to do what is best for themselves, and Mannion even has a blueprint to transition from the Warriors to Europe in the form of his own father.

Nico’s father Pace was also taken in the second round by Golden State in 1983, spent six years playing stateside before spending a better part of a decade playing in Italy. The younger Mannion’s stock, especially in Italy, also has to be around its highest thanks to Nico’s play for the country in the Tokyo Olympics.

“(Mannion) helped lead (Italy) to the quarterfinals of the Olympics,” Green said. “Chess not checkers!”

Mannion did exactly that, averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 assists per contest through four games. The best game of his tournament came in the group stage against eventual bronze-medal winners Australia – the “Boomers” featured NBA veterans like guard Patty Mills, forward Joe Ingles and center Aron Baynes – with Mannion scoring 21 points on 9-of-15 from the field while dishing out seven assists.

All this came from a player who is just 20 years old, younger than the writer of this article with his collegiate experience amounting to a 2019-20 season shortened by COVID-19 with no postseason play.

The “checkers” approach would be to spend his time on the fringe of Golden State’s rotation, which is pretty full when it comes to the point guard position. Stephen Curry (you might have heard of him) has the starting spot about as locked down as a starting spot could be, Jordan Poole emerged last season as a strong backup to the two-time NBA MVP, Gary Payton II could make the roster in some form, and Green and newly-resigned Andre Iguodala figure to spend lots of time handling the ball.

Mannion is instead returning to a place of comfort in a country where he spent the youngest years of his life, while the Warriors are looking to win now in the backside of their core’s primes. It does not make sense to keep trying the same old diagonal checkers moves.

For Mannion, going off the beaten path with a complex move found only on the chess board is the right call. If he returns to Golden State in a few years as a more seasoned player with more opportunities, Green would certainly welcome him back after Mannion took his career into his own hands. And so should the Warriors.

FeatureMichael WaldmanNico Mannion, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Warriors1 Comment