Golden State Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. isn't keeping tabs on Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga after trading the veteran at the deadline. After a reported argument with Steve Kerr led to Kuminga's trade request, the Warriors head coach reduced the forward's prominent role with the team to out of his rotation.
Dunleavy addressed Kuminga in a recent interview, per The San Francisco Standard's Tim Kawakami.
“I haven’t watched anything, yet.” Dunleavy said. “We’ve been really busy with stuff here in a myriad of different ways. I think with JK all along, I mean, the talent is there. This guy is a good basketball player when he plays the right way, when he does the right things. We wish him the best. I think he could do really well.
“He’s a talented player, and for many stretches across his career here with the Warriors, he had some big games, some big moments, and some great stretches. We know he’s capable of that.”
Did Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. consider holding onto Kuminga through the trade deadline and into the offseason?
“I think you guys know, it’s been put out there about the trade demand [by Kuminga before the deadline], and I think any time a player wants that, I want to try to accommodate,” Dunleavy said. “You want people who want to be here. And for that reason, we felt it was the right time to move on.
“I think JK’s happy about it, I think we’re in the right spot for it, it was just kind of the right thing to do at the time.”
Why Kendrick Perkins calls out Warriors' Steve Kerr
ESPN's Kendrick Perkins called out Warriors coach Steve Kerr for how he handled things with Jonathan Kuminga this season. For Perkins, Kerr didn't give Kuminga enough opportunities ahead of his exit from the Warriors, he said, per ESPN's Road Trippin.
“We knew that Jonathan Kuminga had a high ceiling. Steph Curry knew it, Draymond Green knew it, Jimmy Butler knew it,” Perkins said. “The only person that didn’t believe was Steve Kerr.”
The Warriors will face the Rockets on the road on Thursday.
