The Golden State Warriors have been struggling as of late, as has young forward Jonathan Kuminga. However, Jimmy Butler has clearly taken the 32-year-old under his wing after revealing had him over for dinner following Sunday's win over the Indiana Pacers.
It was a rough game for Kuminga and arguably his worst for the season, having finished with just five points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor before being benched over the final 18 minutes of the 114-83 victory.
Jimmy Butler's mentorship with Jonathan Kuminga extends beyond the court
According to Nick Friedell of The Athletic, Butler continues to play a major role in Kuminga's on and off-court development as they each play key roles for the Warriors to open the season.
"Butler said he was having Kuminga over to his house for a postgame dinner Sunday night. He has grown close to the fifth-year pro since arriving last season and wants to do what he can to keep the young player’s spirits up after a rough stretch in which Kuminga has gone 12-for-38 over his last three games," Friedell wrote.
This unlikely mentorship is huge for the Warriors. When they acquired Butler in a huge trade last season, the hope was that he would play well on the floor and be able to support Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
What they have gotten is so much more than that, having got a veteran who has faced leadership questions in the past yet has been more than willing to support the young guys on the team and help them out as best he can.
The fact that Kuminga has a proven veteran like Butler in his corner is massive. The former seventh overall pick was red-hot to start the season and looked to be ingraining himself as a starting lineup regular for the rest of the season.
Inevitably he was going to cool off, and now that he has over recent games, the fact that Butler is sticking up for him in postgame press conferences and having him over for dinner speaks volumes to what he is bringing to Golden State off the floor as well as with his play on it.
For years Golden State's "separate timeline" narrative has been discussed ad nauseam. There has been an endless debate on how long the Warriors' veterans will last and whether the young players are good enough to comprise the next dynasty of Warriors basketball.
This debate will inevitably continue over the course of this season and next, but Butler's actions and embrace of Kuminga bode well for a future in which the latter is one of the stars of the team and not just a budding young player trying to find his way.
We will see if Kuminga can turn his play around, but the fact that Butler is being so supportive is great to see and shows the Warriors got more than they even bargained for in the Butler trade.