When the Golden State Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks at February's mid-season deadline, they would have though it would be a while before the young forward made the sort of playoff impact that would make them truly regret their decision.
Yet just months after the trade, Kuminga has played a huge role in the Hawks claiming back-to-back one-point wins over the New York Knicks which has given them a surprise 2-1 first-round series lead.
Warriors facing Jonathan Kuminga regret sooner than anyone expected
Kuminga, of course, had playoff impact when he averaged over 24 points on 55% shooting from the floor over the final four games of Golden State's second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves last year. However, the Warriors lost all four games and they weren't able to give Stephen Curry a chance to return from the hamstring injury he suffered in Game 1.
Golden State thought this was a young player who needed to go to a young team that would allow him to play through his mistakes, then potentially rise up together to make playoff noise in a few years. Atlanta were 10th in the Eastern Conference at the time of the trade, meaning the Warriors might be forgiven for thinking multiple playoff victories weren't imminent.
But now the Hawks are pushing towards a shock first-round series victory, with Kuminga's play over the last two games far more meaningful than this time last year because it's actually leading to winning.
The 23-year-old had 21 points, four rebounds, a steal and a block in Thursday's thrilling 109-108 victory, once again shooting a highly efficient 9-of-14 from the floor in over 28 minutes off the bench.
Hawks are empowering Jonathan Kuminga in the biggest moments
Thursday's performance came after Kuminga had 19 points, four rebounds, an assist and two steals in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden, with the former Warrior proving the only Hawks player to appear in all 12 fourth-quarter minutes where he made some huge game-winning plays down the stretch of a remarkable comeback win.
Kuminga played all but 30 seconds of the fourth-quarter on Thursday, scoring six points which included an aggressive put-back layup after a strong offensive rebound. The former seventh overall pick was a +3, having been a +10 in Game 2 -- he recorded a positive plus-minus in just one of his eight playoff games last season.
The Warriors didn't expect this. Even if they would have privately acknowledged that Kuminga could become a very impactful rotation piece in time, they wouldn't have anticipated this level of playoff influence so shortly after the trade.
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