The Golden State Warriors continued their strong start to the season on Thursday, comfortably accounting for the visiting Atlanta Hawks to maintain their spot atop the NBA's Western Conference.
But while one of Golden State's athletic forwards led the way as Andrew Wiggins scored a game-high 27 points, it was another who was again a storyline for the wrong reasons in the 120-97 victory.
Jonathan Kuminga's role with the Warriors remains uncertain
Jonathan Kuminga's playing time and performance is always going to be micro-analzyed given his impending free agency next offseason. The fourth-year forward saw just over 15 minutes on Thursday, a season-low that left fans bewildered by Steve Kerr's rotation decisions in the second-half.
Kuminga played less than six minutes in the second-half -- two and a half of which came as garbage time at the end of the game when Kerr pulled Wiggins, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and his other starters.
It came as a significant surprise given Kuminga had actually produced in the first-half, having recorded 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting while adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals in just over nine minutes. The 22-year-old looked active on both ends, knocked down a three, made 3-of-4 from the free throw line, and was a +11 as Golden State built a 25-point lead.
Fans were left to voice their frustration despite the 23-point win, with some genuinely and rightfully perplexed as to what the Warriors plans are for Kuminga, while others even suggested that the former seventh overall pick should request a trade.
Eight Warriors have played more minutes than Jonathan Kuminga. He needs to request a trade immediately. Coaches ruin young guys' careers all the time, and that's exactly what Kerr is doing.
— Eugene B. Lee-Johnson, PhD (@eugenejohnson_) November 21, 2024
Ridiculous. How do you put up 10pts, 5 Reb, 2 AST 2 STL and 1 blk in 12 mins, 3/4 from the line and get benched? Kuminga will need to walk on water to get more than 20 mins. Punishment for not signing. Help me unsee it. pic.twitter.com/BbZEjRHDf7
— Swish🏀Culture (@SwishCultureYT) November 21, 2024
What’s the plan with kuminga ? I’m genuinely trying to understand! You can’t be planning on trading him because you are tanking his value. You can’t be making him the future because you aren’t developing or letting him play. So what’s the plan ?
— Na Na 💅🏽 (@Nanamaxamed) November 21, 2024
It's not necessarily a one-off game for Kuminga either, having now played less than 20 minutes in three consecutive games. He had been thriving in a bench role since controversially being pushed out of the starting lineup after the first three games of the season, but the last week has again shone a light on his role and future with the franchise.
When asked specifically about Kuminga's minutes in the post-game press conference, Kerr alluded to each game needing a different situation and the fact he's continuing a 12-man rotation. He's not wrong in that response, but it's also a fairly generic one that could be applied to any player on the team who sees limited minutes.
Kuminga isn't like other players on the roster -- there's a reason why playing him less than 16 minutes is a storyline as opposed to Kyle Anderson playing less than 15 minutes, Kevon Looney seeing just over 13, or Gary Payton II just over six.
At the end of the day it's just another chapter in this rather long-and-windy road Kuminga has already gone down within his first four years. Whatever happens next probably shouldn't come as any surprise.