With a decision on his Golden State Warriors future needing to be made in the next few months, Jonathan Kuminga is struggling to generate much momentum upon his return from a long-term ankle injury.
Kuminga raised some optimism with an excellent performance in a big game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, but has since failed to score more than 10 points in any of the last four games amid a limited bench role.
Steve Kerr is leaving the Warriors with only one answer on Jonathan Kuminga
The relationship between Kuminga and head coach Steve Kerr has been a major talking point at different points over recent years, and it's once again rearing its head at a vitally important time for both player and franchise.
In 14 games since his return from a 31-game absence, Kuminga has played 25 minutes or more just three times and has scarcely been used in Golden State's closing lineups. The 22-year-old's minutes saw another downturn on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs, having played just 18 in the heart-breaking 114-111 loss.
Perhaps most notably, Kuminga only played two minutes in the fourth-quarter, with Kerr preferring fellow youngsters Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski despite each shooting 3-of-11 from the floor and combining for 2-of-12 from 3-point range.
In a quarter where the Warriors were struggling to get much going offensively outside of Jimmy Butler's ability to get to the free-throw line, maybe they could have done with Kuminga's sheer scoring talent.
Yet Kuminga's ability to play alongside Butler in the same lineups continues to be a concern, with the pair sharing a -11.5 net rating in 120 minutes on the floor together. That includes Golden State possessing a 100.8 offensive rating with them on the floor, suggesting the similar skillsets are far more hindrance than helpful.
If Kuminga can't play with Butler, if he isn't playing 25+ minutes per game, and he isn't part of Kerr's closing lineups consistently, the only answer is to refrain from the sort of $25+ million per year deal that's long been considered likely as a restricted free agent.
The bigger question might be how rivals view this current situation, and whether they think the current Kuminga predicament is predominantly on him, or whether it's on Kerr and the franchise. If it's the former rather than the latter, perhaps that will still give the Warriors an opportunity to retain the former seventh overall pick on a far more team-friendly contract that they're actually comfortably with.