Debates about Jonathan Kuminga amongst Warriors fans are not going to subside anytime soon. Even though the 23-year-old's first game against the Warriors as a member of the Atlanta Hawks was a dud as he only scored 2 points, Kuminga's most fervent defenders have to realize a truth they are unwilling to admit about the young player.
Kuminga is basically the same exact player that he was with the Warriors. It is not as if getting traded to a new franchise has completely changed his usage or unlocked some untapped, unrealized potential that he never got to express when he was with the Warriors.
Kuminga defenders must admit he's the same player
Since joining the Hawks, Kuminga has averaged just over 22 minutes per game and just over 13 points per game. With the Warriors this season, he averaged just under 24 minutes per game and roughly 12 points per game.
Those numbers are roughly comparable, not only to each other but to Kuminga's career numbers as a whole. It seems like Kuminga is not exactly getting the opportunity his defenders always said he needed: a fresh start on a bad team where he could play 30 minutes a game and have some great games, some bad ones, but slowly improve.
Instead, the Hawks are actually a good team. They have been on an absolute tear of late and are now the No. 6 seed in the East. Compare that to the Warriors, an injury-ravaged team that has been in free-fall and is clinging onto the No. 10 seed in the West and a sad Play-In appearance.
The Hawks are trying to make a playoff run, meaning they aren't just going to run Kuminga out there and tell him to make mistakes and learn. They are trying to win now and clearly the Hawks do not think using him as a starting player is in the team's best interests right now.
This doesn't mean Kuminga is a bad player or he will never develop into something more. It just means that he's still the same player he was with the Warriors -- a role-player trying to find his way. Some games he will put up 30 points and look like a superstar the way he did in one of his first games with the Hawks. Then he'll have games like the one we saw against the Warriors on Saturday.
Kuminga is still so young and has a ton of career ahead of him, but those fervent defenders who claimed he would reach a whole different level after leaving the Warriors clearly jumped the gun.