The Golden State Warriors may be accused of some things, but they very rarely rush players back from injury or illness. They've been very cautious with Kristaps Porzingis since his arrival, but the same can't necessarily be said for the Atlanta Hawks and Jonathan Kuminga.
The Hawks may have well made a mistake in bringing Kuminga back during Thursday's win over the Brooklyn Nets, with the young forward now set to miss Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Hawks have made a mistake with Jonathan Kuminga's knee injury
Atlanta have listed Kuminga out with left knee injury management, presumably continuing a concern that stems from his last game for the Warriors nearly two months ago when he limped off the floor in Dallas.
Kuminga missed 11-straight games with the injury, including six with the Hawks following last month's bombshell trade that sent he and Buddy Hield to Atlanta, with Porzingis landing in the Bay the other way.
The former seventh overall pick then exploded over his first three games for his new team, averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting an incredibly efficient 67.7% from the floor and 55.6% from 3-point range.
That momentum was immediately halted though, with the knee injury rearing its head again and forcing Kuminga out of three-straight games. His return was highly anticipated, but even Atlanta fans were left wondering whether the 23-year-old should have been playing on Thursday.
Kuminga certainly wasn't the explosive scorer who averaged over 21 points in less than 27 minutes across his first three games. In fact, he only took four field-goal attempts in 20 minutes off the bench, missing all of them and only finishing with two points after making two of his four free throws.
There was certainly less aggression from Kuminga, perhaps somewhat intentionally as he still tries to fit in with his new team and after another three-game absence, but perhaps also because he's seemingly not totally over the knee injury.
Jury is still out on last month's bombshell trade
Things haven't gone ideally for any of three players involved in the trade before the deadline. Kuminga has appeared in just four of Atlanta's 13 games, while Hield can't even get minutes in garbage time and has played in just one game.
Porzingis, meanwhile, has dealt with an ongoing mystery illness, but Friday's home meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the third time he's played in the last four games, having previously made his debut against the Boston Celtics on February 19.
The form of the two teams has certainly be of significant contrast since the trade, with the Hawks having won eight-straight games, while the Warriors have lost 10 of their last 15 amid ongoing injury concerns.