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The Golden State Warriors recently took a 3-1 lead in their first round playoff series against the Houston Rockets thanks to a strong defensive performance in Game 4. Draymond Green made his mark down the stretch of this one, locking up Alperen Sengun in the closing seconds to seal the victory for Golden State.
One big storyline for the Warriors during this playoff run has been the playing time–or lack thereof–for wing Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga saw some minutes when the Warriors were decimated by injuries in Game 2 of this series but hasn't been able to get on the court much since.
Recently, Warriors reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic stopped by the Run It Back show to make a comparison between Kuminga's situation and what Jayson Tatum experienced with Steve Kerr during the 2024 Olympics.
“It reminds me a little bit in a smaller way of the Jayson Tatum situation last summer in the Olympics where you know, I think Steve Kerr was of the belief if Jayson Tatum on the floor is the fourth or fifth option, he would prefer a Derrick White in that type of role,” said Slater. “Where it’s defend, hustle, rebound, cut, do that type of stuff because the ball is not going to be in your hands, and I just see that with the Kuminga situation.”
A tough spot for Jonathan Kuminga
Slater is essentially saying that the Warriors don't necessarily view players like Gui Santos as being “better” than Kuminga in the traditional sense, but that they would rather have players who stay in their lane and take care of the basics on the court with Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry.
“…they’d just rather have guys out there that master the small stuff,” said Slater.
Kuminga missed a large chunk of the 2024-25 season due to injury and was largely thought of as a potential trade candidate for the Warriors before they were able to acquire Jimmy Butler without moving him.
It remains to be seen what the future will hold for Kuminga at the end of this Golden State playoff run, which looks like it could be a lengthy one.
