Jonathan Kuminga was a revelation in the final four games of the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors, averaging 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line.
But despite Kuminga’s explosive scoring, the Warriors lost all those games against a healthy and athletic Minnesota Timberwolves team.
Kuminga’s star was rising before a significant ankle injury in January cost him 32 games and the arrival of Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline relegated him to the bench.
The fourth-year forward had six DNPs over the Warriors’ last 14 games. He only played when Curry or Butler was not available during the playoffs, leading to more questions about his long-term future with the Warriors.
The 22-year-old Kuminga will be a restricted free agent in July.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Marcus Thompson II, Kuminga returning next season to Golden State remains a possibility.
“But both sides are expected to explore sign-and-trade scenarios, those sources said, which would open up the market and theoretically give Kuminga the contract and fresh start he’d desire while bringing the Warriors back rotation players of immediate value. The Warriors’ decision-makers believe they need more positional size across the board — center and otherwise,” Amick and Thompson wrote.
The Warriors did not make Kuminga available to the media after their season ended in a 121-110 loss in Game 5, in which the athletic forward was their second-leading scorer with 26 points.
Steve Kerr ‘Irked’ by Jonathan Kuminga’s Selfish Play
When Golden State coach Steve Kerr removed Kuminga from the rotation, he publicly said that Kuminga doesn’t fit well next to Butler and Draymond Green due to spacing issues.
But behind the scenes, Kerr had another reason.
The four-time champion coach did not like Kuminga’s habit of hunting for his own shot and undermining Curry, according to The Ringer’s Logan Murdock.
“Despite his talent, Kuminga’s propensity to look for his shot at the expense of the flow of Golden State’s offense has irked the coaching staff.
“During a late-season game against the Blazers, team sources say Kerr was incensed after several instances in which Kuminga looked off [Stephen] Curry to create his own offense. Kuminga subsequently received DNPs in the Warriors’ regular-season finale against the Clippers and then again in their play-in matchup against the Grizzlies. By the start of the playoffs, many within the organization wondered whether Kuminga, who is eligible for an extension, had played his last game as a Warrior,” Murdock wrote.
Injuries to Butler and Curry in the playoffs forced Kerr’s hand to bring Kuminga back into the rotation.
“Throughout his career, Kuminga has had to navigate conflicting opinions of his game within the Warriors organization,” Murdock added.
Sign-and-Trade Prediction
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley predicts a sign-and-trade scenario wherein the Warriors would send the 6-foot-7 Kuminga to the Brooklyn Nets for 3-and-D wing Cam Johnson.
“Even if Golden State is less than convinced Kuminga is a long-term fit for the team, it will want to recoup something for the asset.
“Look for the Warriors to work out a sign-and-trade with the Nets that gets him a four-year deal in the $100 million range and delivers the Dubs three-and-D ace Cameron Johnson,” Buckley wrote.
The 6-foot-8 Johnson, who is a 39.2% career 3-point shooter, is better suited as a complementary player to the Warriors’ veteran core than Kuminga, whose style of play overlaps with Butler.
