It's hard to pinpoint an exact moment where the relationship between Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga and head coach Steve Kerr got to the point of no return. Yet, one moment in Chicago earlier this season may have been the turning point.
The Warriors played the Bulls and recored a comfortable win, but it was achieved without Kuminga on the floor. It was the first of many DNP designations for Kuminga as he really only factored into the equation a couple of times following Jimmy Butler's season-ending ACL injury.
Moment in Chicago was the breaking point for Steve Kerr, Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors
After that game, Kerr was asked about Kuminga and replied that pretty much every player in the league will get benched for some games, "other than the stars."
After hearing that, Kuminga told a reporter, "That's the [expletive] I'm talking about. Why's he gotta say that?"
Kerr probably didn't mean that comment as a swipe at Kuminga. In fact, for Kuminga to think of himself as a star would be fairly laughable given the inconsistency he has shown throughout his career.
But the fact that the comment so upset Kuminga speaks to how broken and fractured that relationship already was, with every comment perceived as a slight against him in some fashion.
When Kuminga is at his best, he's shown that he has the qualities of a star player. Yet he simply hasn't demonstrated that consistently enough to warrant that designation, largely thanks to his mistakes in combination with Kerr's short leash.
Kuminga defenders like Joe Lacob would say Kuminga wasn't given a fair shake and allowed to develop into that sort of player. Clearly, Kerr and much of the coaching staff had a different idea for how the young forward's skillset could be utilized.
The coaching staff wanted Kuminga to be more of a team player who could support the cast around him, rather than being one of the main scorers which the former seventh overall pick evidently wanted to be on his way to becoming a star.
It's unfortunate that the situation deteriorated so badly over the years, but after the string of benchings and a reported heated meeting between Kerr and Kuminga later in December, the relationship was basically completely severed and both sides needed a fresh start.
The whole Kuminga saga will be debated by Warriors fans for years. Whose fault was it? Was drafting him the death knell for the dynasty? It will never fully go away, but it seems when his string of DNPs started, that was when both sides simply had no other choice but to move on.