Jonathan Kuminga eventually re-signed with the Golden State Warriors, even though he clearly wanted to be traded. And through his first couple of preseason games back with Golden State, he looked just like he was destined to: Slightly out of place and wanting to do more. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Anthony Slater recently spoke about it.
“I would say the first two games for Jonathan have been kind of a good example of the good and bad, in terms of what he can do,” said Bontemps. “Like, okay first game, not as great second game, playing 18-ish minutes off the bench. Feels kind of like what the role is gonna be. Has shown some flashes, good and bad.”
“He’s overpassing… This is the challenge for him,” said Slater. “And this is why it’s not that great of a roster fit. It’s like, he wants to spread his playmaking wings and his primary creation wings, but he knows the coaching staff doesn’t want it.”
“Well, and it’s also just not needed on this team, which is the problem,” said Bontemps.
“Which he knows. It’s why he was kind of trying not to be on this team,” said Slater.
“Not kind of,” said Bontemps.
What is wrong with Jonathan Kuminga on the Warriors?
Kuminga doesn’t fit with what the Warriors want to do. He simply doesn’t. It’s not because he can’t impact winning, and it’s not because he’s untalented: It’s because he wants more.
He didn’t want to join the Sacramento Kings because he’d have a better chance to win a championship; he wanted to join the Kings so he could play more minutes and have a larger role. That’s what he wanted. That’s probably what he still wants.
The Warriors just don’t have the right situation for him to do that. Stephen Curry will lead the way, Jimmy Butler will have the ball a ton, and outside of that, they have a lot more talent.
Unfortunately for Kuminga, he’s not great enough to play alongside Curry and match the Warriors’ style to earn more minutes than he’s gotten up to this point. Golden State just doesn’t want to lean into his skills.
But now, he and the Warriors are going to have to learn to co-exist. It just may not look too pretty throughout the season, and he could end up being benched some nights if they don’t like what he’s bringing to the game.
The Kuminga situation has been patched up for the time being, but it most certainly is not solved.