Jonathan Kuminga instantly proves Steve Kerr and Warriors dead wrong in Hawks debut

Former Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has quickly gone about proving Steve Kerr and the franchise wrong in a stunning debut for the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

Playing against the lowly Washington Wizards, Kuminga exploded with a season-high 27 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists as the Hawks recorded a very comfortable 119-98 victory at State Farm Arena.

Jonathan Kuminga instantly proves Warriors wrong in Hawks debut

Having not played since January 22 after suffering a knee injury in what was his final game with Golden State, Kuminga instantly looked at home in Atlanta with a strong first stint coming off the bench.

Kuminga had a transition layup and a thunderous dunk, drilled a three, and found teammates no less than four times for assists in a blistering six-minute sequence to close the first-quarter. The former seventh overall pick only built on the momentum from there, putting in a highly efficient performance that will have Hawks fans immediately thrilled with the trade and Kuminga's potential going forward.

Kuminga's 27 points came on only 12 shots, having gone 9-of-12 from the floor including 3-of-4 from 3-point range despite being a career 33.1% shooter from beyond the arc during his five seasons with the Warriors.

The 23-year-old's athleticism and physicality has always provided him frequent trips to the free-throw line, and he took advantage of that in his Hawks debut by knocking down 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Kuminga's seven rebounds and four assists will have also pleased Atlanta's coaching staff, having played within the flow of the offense and proving active on both ends. What's even more impressive is he did it all in less than 25 minutes, having finished as a +16 in the 21-point win.

Kuminga did produce these type of performances now and again at the Warriors, having regularly flashed his star upside potential through an up-and-down career. The problem was always a lack of consistency, both in two-way effort, production and ultimately the playing time afforded to him by Kerr.

Only time will tell whether this can sustain in Atlanta and especially against better opposition, but it's certainly an ominious start that could have Golden State regretting their decision in time.

The other issue for the Warriors is that the player they got back in the trade, Kristaps Porzingis, is once again sidelined with illness after making an encouraging but limited debut against the Boston Celtics last Thursday.