Golden State Warriors: Jonathan Kuminga’s time could be now

It was Jonathan Kuminga’s unpolished skillset that made him drop to seventh in the 2021 NBA Draft — but it was that same raw talent that encouraged the Golden State Warriors to take a chance on him.

With a decent collection of wing assets like Andrew Wiggins, Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala, most assumed the Dubs would have enough depth to ease Kuminga into his role. Gradually introducing the teenager into the NBA would be the most seamless path to success.

However, with an ongoing Wiggins dilemma — Kuminga’s time could come sooner than we thought.

The Golden State Warriors might need Jonathan Kuminga to embrace his role sooner rather than later in his rookie season.

Kuminga should not be afraid of playing a bigger role than expected early on. He is in a perfect environment to showcase his physical gifts and play to his strengths. Alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Kuminga will be able to fill in as a versatile defender who can feed off his star teammates and pick his opportunities to score.

This early exposure could be a blessing in disguise. There is no doubt Kuminga will have plenty of ‘welcome to the NBA’ moments through his rookie season but learning from these mistakes is only possible if he is granted the freedom to try and fail in real-time.

Kuminga will have to accept the challenge of being an instant contributor and do his best to dominate his role. We should expect to see Kuminga take on a lot of responsibility as a defender and become a force of nature in transition.

This could backfire, of course. A few bad games to start his career could send Kuminga’s confidence plummeting. This is a balance the coaching staff and his veteran teammates will have to help him maintain.

Overall, Kuminga should be excited that he will have a chance to shine from day one in his NBA career. Whether or not Wiggins will be available remains to be seen but it is clear Kuminga’s role will be increased due to the rift Wiggins is currently creating between him and the rest of the team.