One aspect of the Golden State Warriors that will be an interesting storyline to watch this summer and upcoming season will be on star Jonathan Kuminga. He has emerged into one of Golden State's top stars along Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but there could be an uncomfortable conversation regarding him being a starter.
ESPN's Zach Lowe was on his podcast “The Lowe Post” where he asked fellow NBA insider on the same network in Tim MacMahon about what a possible starting lineup would be for the Warriors. They would both agree that Kuminga would have to be in the starting five, and if the Warriors' plan disagrees with that notion, MacMahon said they should “aggressively look to move him” via trade.
“The old two timelines thing, the guy who has really hit from that has been Kuminga, and I think you’ve either got to start him or aggressively look to move him,” MacMahon said. “Because it was a thing last year and you know his camp made some noise and then Steve Kerr came out and said you know what I yeah I shouldn’t have him riding the pine while we were losing a close game to the Nuggets after he was playing extremely well.”
Kuminga off the Warriors bench won't be a “manageable situation”
There was controversy this past season from Kuminga's representation and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr about playing time and how even with productive performances, his presence on the court was limited. He would truly fill in and emerge as a star for the team until the missed time from Draymond Green due to his suspensions and even an injury to Stephen Curry where he took a brunt of the offensive touches and proved he is a “starting caliber player” per MacMahon.
“He was in the starting lineup off the bat, there’s no question he’s a starting caliber player,” MacMahon said. “I mean he really did take a leap last year. There are people on his side of things would say yeah the leap was he had a bigger role.”
Last season, Kuminga would average 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arch. MacMahon would double down on his claim that if the Warriors' plan is for him to come off the bench, he does not believe it can be a “manageable situation going forward.”
“I just don’t think bringing him off of the bench is something that’s going to be a manageable situation moving forward,” MacMahon said.
Zach Lowe said benching Kuminga could be a “radioactive bomb”
Lowe would also give his thoughts on the relationship between Kuminga and the Warriors where the first taste of what the situation could look will be in Las Vegas where the Summer League is happening and they could all possibly meet. To put it into a metaphor, the ESPN basketball analyst would call it a “radioactive bomb” if Golden State believes the 21-year old can come off the bench.
“This is why I mentioned Vegas,” Lowe said. “And they all meet in Vegas, and the message is hey we’re going into training camp, it’s going to be Steve’s decision, maybe he comes off the bench, maybe he doesn’t , but I just don’t think that can fly anymore. I think that could be a radioactive bomb throwing the Kuminga camp.”
Kuminga was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft coming from G League Ignite where he averaged just under 10 points per game in his first two years until he came on the scene last season. While he could easily be the Warriors' young star that they build around in the future, there also has been speculation of being an attractive trade piece to load up their current roster.
Steve Kerr talks about improving the Warriors
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke about Kuminga being in a lot of trade rumors for the past several years where while he did not specifically talk about his player, he said that they are always looking to “improve their team” according to Heavy.com. He would talk about the team's un-tradable player which is obviously the franchise's best player in history in Curry who brought them four championships.
“First of all, you have to understand, there’s very few players in the league who are not talked about in trade discussions. Steph Curry is not being discussed in trade talks. Everybody else is,” Kerr said to a radio show “Willard and Dibs on 95.7.”
“And if you went down the list of NBA teams, the Lakers probably are not talking to anybody about LeBron, you know?” Kerr continued. “Everybody’s got maybe one or two guys who, they are off the table. So the vast majority of the players in the NBA, the players are constantly going to be discussed in trade talks, because everyone’s trying to do the same thing, which is improve their team.”
Kerr “excited” to work with Kuminga next season with Golden State
The trade rumors have not stopped as the Warriors have been connected to Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen where Kuminga could be a piece in that deal were it to be made. Still, Kerr spoke about Kuminga like he will be a central piece to the team saying that he is “excited about coaching him next year.”
“With JK [Kuminga], we love the strides he has taken,” Kerr said. “He’s got room to grow, which is exciting. We’re working with him, he’s been great, he is having a good summer. I am excited about coaching him next year, and seeing how much better he can get.”
At any rate, Kuminga is looking to make a huge jump next season and bolster the Warriors as they were 46-36 last season which put them 10th in the Western Conference. If he were to get traded, his last game came with the organization came in the season finale where Golden State lost to the Sacramento Kings in the first play-in tournament game.
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