On the Warriors Stock Report, Anthony Slater of ESPN talked about how happy Jonathan Kuminga is with the Hawks after the Golden State Warriors sent him to Atlanta before the deadline.
"Look, I've heard he's happy there. He likes the youth and the up-and-down nature of the operation. Also, the simplified version of the offense."
Kuminga was desperate for a change, which is why, as soon as he became eligible for a trade on Jan. 15, he "demanded" one. If he had it his way, he wouldn't have spent the first part of the season with the Warriors, but he re-signed with Golden State on a two-year deal over the summer. The reasoning behind that, though, was setting himself up to be traded before the deadline.
He went without playing for a few weeks, and in the game after Jimmy Butler tore his ACL, Kuminga had 20 points (7-of-10), five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 21 minutes.
That happened five days after he became trade-eligible, and with Butler out, it seemed like maybe the Warriors would opt to keep the forward around until the end of the season. Kuminga's knee injury in the following game against the Mavericks called the possibility of a trade further into question, but the front office ultimately granted his wish.
Jonathan Kuminga's happiness with the Hawks is evident
Kuminga had to wait a couple of weeks before debuting with Atlanta, between recovering from injury and the All-Star break, but it was worth the wait. He had a season-high 27 points in the Hawks' 119-98 win over the Wizards on Tuesday. As impressive as his performance was, stepping in with Jalen Johnson out of the game with a hip injury, what stood out most was his joy.
The past few years that Kuminga spent in Golden State wore on him. He and Steve Kerr never saw eye-to-eye on his role on the team, and he was in-and-out of the rotation because of it. It was a never-ending cycle that the Warriors willingly extended for far too long.
We know that Kuminga spoke with the Kings over the summer about what his role would look like in Sacramento if a sign-and-trade were to happen. He seemed excited about the possibility of joining an organization that can't get out of its own way. All he wanted was an opportunity, and luckily for him, he got one with a more competent team focused on its youth.
You can understand why he's happy about where he is now, but as Slater said, the forward is still in the honeymoon phase. The Hawks are 2-0 in the Kuminga era, so things are going well now. Let's see if they stay that way.