Steve Kerr's use of Jonathan Kuminga was a constant talking point over recent years before the young forward was traded at February's deadline, with the former seventh overall pick never able to consistently fit within the Golden State Warriors system.
Yet it seems the Warriors have now realized that Kerr should have utilized Kuminga's skillset more, though that's come far too late and only makes their trade with the Atlanta Hawks look even worse.
Jonathan Kuminga trade looks worse given Steve Kerr realization
Ironically, it's now Kerr whose future at the franchise is up in the air after the Warriors were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns at the final hurdle of the Play-In Tournament on Friday night.
Reporting on Kerr's future on Monday, ESPN's Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne outlined that the Warriors could be in for a philosophical offensive change even if the four-time championship head coach returns.
"If Kerr returns, they will discuss staffing and what management believes is a need for philosophy tweaks, team sources said, focusing on diversifying the offensive attack and winning the analytically friendly possession battle more often," Slater and Shelburne wrote. "There has been a feeling internally that they were too reliant this season on 3-point variance."
While there was no mention of Kuminga specifically, there's little doubt his skillset would have perfectly suited the diversification of the offense that Slater and Shelburne allude to.
For years there was a hope that Kuminga's downhill dynamism and rim pressure could be an excellent complement to the 3-point shooting headlined by superstar guard Stephen Curry. Instead, the athletic forward often struggled to know when to attack and when to defer to veteran teammates, making for an awkward fit that wasn't aided by the spacing concerns between he, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
He also wasn't helped by Kerr who failed to deliver the sort of consistent playing time and opportunity that young players often need, and who didn't lean on Kuminga's skillset enough despite an acknowledgement now that the Warriors could do with more interior scoring.
Jonathan Kuminga produces strong Game 2 performance in NBA playoffs
On the same day ESPN's report came out, Kuminga enjoyed a strong Game 2 performance for the Hawks in their first-round series against the New York Knicks. After an underwhelming outing in Game 1, Kuminga delivered big time in the fourth-quarter of a shock 107-106 comeback victory.
Kuminga finished with 19 points, four rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block in nearly 35 minutes off the bench, shooting 7-of-12 from the floor while playing all 12 fourth-quarter minutes and recording an equal game-high +10.
Combine Kuminga's performance with reports on the realization of Kerr's offensive philosophies, and it wasn't a good day for the Warriors in looking back at February's bombshell trade.
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