Jonathan Kuminga presents as the final piece of the puzzle for the Golden State Warriors, with the fourth-year forward nearing a return to a team that's firing on all cylinders right now.
Kuminga will miss a 25th-straight game in Thursday's matchup with the Orlando Magic at Kia Center, but there's optimism that the 22-year-old will return on the upcoming five-game road-trip.
Jonathan Kuminga's shooting will be key to his return to the Warriors
The former seventh overall pick was in arguably career-best form prior to the untimely ankle injury, but now there's some slight uncertainty on how exactly he'll fit back into the Warriors given the team's red-hot form.
Given that the arrival of Jimmy Butler has been incredibly beneficial for youngsters Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody, there's hope that the same will simply apply to Kuminga upon his return.
Following Tuesday's blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets, Butler was asked about Kuminga and revealed his expectation for the young forward to simply pick up from where he left off.
“Hella athletic. Can shoot it. Can score it in a multitude of ways. And can guard. I think he’s going to come back and do what he’s been doing," Butler said. "My job is to make it even easier on him," Butler told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Perhaps the three words that raise eyebrows from that statement is "can shoot it." Kuminga has been a willing shooter this season at 3.6 3-point attempts per game, but is still at just 34.5% and 34.2% for his career.
Once Kuminga fully reintegrates back from injury, the hope is that he, Butler and Draymond Green will play able to share significant minutes together in the front court. However, given that would likely come at the expense of Moses Moody or potentially someone like Buddy Hield, it could create some spacing problems that prove difficult to overcome.
Butler's suggestion that Kuminga "can shoot it" needs to come to fruition. Given opposing defenses aren't particularly respecting Butler or Green from beyond the arc, it's going to be difficult to be overly effective if the same applies to the young forward.
Golden State started the season with Kuminga, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis together, but that was short-lived and was ultimately shelved after just three games. The Butler, Kuminga, Green combination provides a lot more versatility and therefore should have a better chance of success, but it still may not work in a way many Warrior fans are envisioning.
If that proves to be the case, then it's only going to add an extra element of intrigue come the offseason where Kuminga is set to be a restricted free agent.