Jonathan Kuminga will have to wait a little longer to make his Hawks debut after the Golden State Warriors finally traded him, as Atlanta announced on Wednesday that his knee will be re-evaluated in a week. When he does play again, though, he will have the chance to prove the doubters in his former organization wrong.
If he manages to do so in a short span of time, as the end of the regular season is less than two months away, it will be yet another tough blow to the Warriors' season. Kuminga hasn't played in almost a month since getting injured, but he does have a history of making an immediate impact, like he did when he scored 20 points against the Raptors in his first game in over a month. That was after he was out of the rotation, though, not injured.
Still, this is the opportunity that the forward has waited for what feels like 30 years for, even though he's only 23. The Hawks aren't structured around one or two stars, although Jalen Johnson is a young star, which benefits Kuminga as he comes from a system built around stars in Golden State. With Trae Young gone, Atlanta has a far more free-flowing offense, which, again, will benefit its new forward.
Jonathan Kuminga has the fresh start he wanted away from the Warriors
He's not going to suddenly turn into a three-point threat and defensive specialist over the span of a few weeks, as those areas are the two biggest weaknesses of his game, but Kuminga will be a downhill threat in Atlanta. Per NBA.com, the Hawks average 51.2 drives per game, ninth in the league, but average 26.8 points per game on their drives, 18th in the league. He'll help change that.
There will be a learning curve as he grows accustomed to his new team, but being on a younger, faster squad (the Hawks play at the third-fastest pace in the league) already puts Kuminga in a more advantageous position for his skill set.
The Warriors (or should we say Joe Lacob) drafted Kuminga with the No. 7 pick in 2021, hoping he'd blossom into a star, and eventually the face of the franchise after Curry. He showed flashes of that player, but it was never consistent. Part of the blame for that falls on Steve Kerr, of course, but there are limitations within Kuminga's game that also hold him back.
Golden State's mistake could turn into Atlanta's fortune, giving the Hawks another young, talented player, if it all works out. Warriors fans should want to see Kuminga thrive, even if it means their favorite team looks worse off for it.