The Golden State Warriors won a thriller on Friday night thanks to a classic performance from Stephen Curry. However, some feel that Jonathan Kuminga's absence may have something to do with the team's rebound over the last two games.
Specifically, Warriors reporter and Bay Area sports institution Tim Kawakami took to social media to muse that maybe Kuminga's move to the bench, and his injury absence on Friday, is the reason the Warriors have played better in recent days.
Jonathan Kuminga's agent responds to comments from Warriors insider
"I'll be accused of being mean for this, but I'll just say that these were the best two games of the Warriors' season so far ... and Kuminga played 12 minutes in the 1st one and none in this one. I'm NOT saying he's a bad player or useless. I'm saying that this is worth noting," Kawakami wrote.
Intypical Kawakami fashion, he went on to joust with any number of social media users who criticized his take. One user who criticized Kawakami was Aaron Turner -- Kuminga's agent who became a big name during the young forward's free agency process in the offseason.
Turner took several swipes at Kawakami, suggesting that Golden State's back-to-back wins were purely thanks to a pair of remarkable performances from Stephen Curry, rather than anything to do with his client's absence.
I would more just accuse you of being stupid, if Steph averaged 48PPG on the road the Warriors would have started 8-1.
— Aaron Turner (@arockturner20) November 15, 2025
The lakers and Nuggets wins weren’t great games?
Steph was sick and now he’s not.
The bickering continued even further, but it does reveal a debate among the fanbase and perhaps even within the Warriors organization about how best to use Kuminga. It's one that's been going on for a while now, with Kuminga's raw talent never in question, but his fit within the style of play the Warriors employ always less clear.
Turner, even though he obviously has a vested interest in making his client look as good as possible, does make a good point that Kuminga looked great early in the season and was a key part of the reason why the Warriors were able to take down the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.
But his level of play has been inconsistent as of late, part of which may have to do with the knee injuries he is dealing with that kept him out of Friday's game against San Antonio.
Kawakami also has a good point when he mentions that even dating back to last year in the games that matter most, head coach Steve Kerr has often used Kuminga sparingly which shows that full trust may still not be there for the young player.
Add in the drawn-out contract drama over the summer that Turner was right in the middle of, and recent comments by Draymond Green that seemed to call out Kuminga, and it seems clear that this debate is not going to end anytime soon. It may very well last until the trade deadline when the Warriors may have to decide once and for all if Kuminga makes sense on the team.