The Golden State Warriors definitely saw Jonathan Kuminga as a project when they selected him 7th overall in the 2021 NBA draft as part of the return they received for D'Angelo Russell back in 2020. While Kuminga has shown flashes of being difficult to stop when he makes his marauding attacks towards the rim, he appears to have fallen into head coach Steve Kerr's doghouse, with the Warriors' latest first-rounder Patrick Baldwin Jr. rumored to have usurped him in the team's pecking order.

According to an unnamed Western Conference executive, the Warriors are more fond of what Baldwin Jr. brings to the table than that of Kuminga's contributions.

“The thing about Kuminga and all those young guys they have is that, if you ask people in that team, they like Patrick Baldwin Jr. better. They may like him more than all of their young guys in the end,” the executive said, per Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports (via NBC Sports).

Patrick Baldwin Jr. ended up falling down on draft boards due to injury and athleticism concerns during his stint at UW-Milwaukee, and the Warriors pounced on his pedigree as one of the more sought-after high school prospects of his batch. While the 19-year old still hasn't been given meaningful minutes to begin his career, the executive also mentioned that the Warriors brass is bullish on how Baldwin profiles alongside the core led by Stephen Curry.

“They’re going to go slow with him, but I would expect to see him in the rotation at some point. Positionally, he fits better than the other young guys except [for] Wiseman. But they think he is going to be a really, really good stretch-four in the league, and they do not have that on the roster right now,” the executive added.

Perhaps this is the kick on the backside that Jonathan Kuminga needs to work even harder in practice. Only 20 years old, Kuminga will still be a crucial part of the balancing act the Warriors are trying to pull off between contending and player development. Alas, even Stephen Curry said that he was also yanked in and out of the rotation to begin his career, and it only served as fuel for him to figure things out. And look where that got him.

Still, with just how highly the Warriors view Patrick Baldwin Jr., it's hard not to get excited for what the 6'9 forward can do once pressed into action. Maybe his chance could come sooner than later with the Warriors coming off back-to-back losses to non-playoff teams.