Jonathan Kuminga was benched for the second straight game as the Golden State Warriors survived the Memphis Grizzlies‘ late push with a 121-116 Play-In Tournament victory on Tuesday, April 15, to clinch the No. 7 seed in the playoffs.
As Kuminga has fallen out of favor, Draymond Green, his biggest supporter within the team, defiantly said the 22-year-old forward will have a meaningful role in their first-round playoff series against the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets.
“He’ll contribute,” Green told reporters after the win. “He’s great and he’s getting his work in. That’s all you can do in that situation is get your work in and he’ll be meaningful for us in that series. I have zero doubt about that. I think the challenge for him is to stay mentally engaged as is for anyone in that situation but I have zero doubt in my mind that he’s going to help us in this series. He will 1,000%.”
Kuminga failed to get minutes despite coach Steve Kerr expanding his rotation to 10 players.
Gui Santos jumped over Kuminga in Kerr’s 10-man rotation as the Brazilian forward contributed three points and three rebounds in six minutes off the bench.
It has been a stunning fall from grace for the former lottery pick, who showed plenty of promise before his ill-timed injury in December and the midseason trade for Jimmy Butler.
Kuminga was the Warriors’ second-leading scorer until Butler’s arrival.
Butler had his second straight 30-point game for the Warriors. He has played 88 out of the 101 minutes over the Warriors’ last two games.
Kuminga averaged 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four games against the Rockets this season.
It will be fascinating to watch if Kerr brings him back into the rotation.
Steve Kerr’s Rationale Behind Jonathan Kuminga’s Benching
Since Kuminga returned from a significant ankle sprain that cost him 31 games, his numbers and his role went significantly down. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 15 games post-injury off the bench. Worst, he only shot 21.1% from the 3-point line which made him unplayable next to Butler in Kerr’s eyes.
“Every game is different and I think Jimmy’s arrival took away a lot of Jonathan’s minutes at the four,” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game’s Mark T. Willard and Dan Dibley on April 10.
“There’s no doubt that as soon as Jimmy [Butler] arrived and we started winning, we leaned into the lineup combinations that enhanced Jimmy because we were winning and Jonathan was out for that whole stretch. We went like 17 and 3 or something, so we’re going to keep doing what’s been winning.”
Then Kerr dropped the hammer on Kuminga.
“But the lineup with Jimmy, Jonathan and Draymond [Green] doesn’t fit really well, frankly. It just doesn’t,” Kerr admitted. “We need more spacing. We’ve found other lineups that have clicked, and this is just part of the deal, being in the NBA, and you’ve got to adapt to whatever’s happening with the team.”
Jonathan Kuminga Could Leave This Summer
Kuminga’s patience will be tested anew, especially on a contract year as he will enter restricted free agency after this season.
During his failed extension talks with the Warriors in the offseason, Kuminga was “aiming for” a $35 million annual salary during their failed extension talks in the offseason, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported in the fall.
The seventh overall pick in 2021, Kuminga was on his way to show he deserved what he was asking for. Over his last 17 games before the injury, Kuminga averaged 19.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 46.7% from the field and 37.3% from the 3-point line.
Then the Butler trade happened.
Unless Kuminga’s role drastically improves for the better between now and summer, the payday he’s been looking forward to will just remain a dream.
