The Golden State Warriors reignited an NBA storyline that lingered throughout the entire offseason, and it centered on the future of Jonathan Kuminga. Speculation about a potential trade had been circulating for months, and Steve Kerr recently addressed how the young Warriors forward handled the uncertainty.
During the Warriors’ most recent press conference, Kerr discussed how the business side of the league influenced the franchise’s decision-making. He also spoke about Kuminga’s situation and expressed empathy for what the young player had been dealing with during the ongoing rumors.
“I think it wasn’t impacting anything for us. You’d have to ask him about his feelings. I can imagine it wasn’t easy for him. We talked about the situation,” Kerr said as he reflected on the uncertainty surrounding the roster.
“My desire was for JK to become the best player he could be, regardless of where he ended up, here or elsewhere. I tell my guys all the time, very few players spend their entire career with one team. That rarely happens. I played for six different teams.”
Is there already a destination for Kuminga?
Even though discussions had already taken place and it seemed almost certain that Kuminga would no longer be part of the Warriors, his destination in the NBA remained unknown. This chapter had no clear ending in sight, and Kerr acknowledged that he didn’t have any answers either.
“None of us knew what was going to happen with JK, or any of the guys, for that matter. Although I advised Mike not to trade Steph,” Kerr said, attempting to lighten the room.
“I talked to Moses about it, I talked to JK about it, and to most of my guys. It’s a really weird league, a weird business to be in, where you have to fully commit to a team knowing very well that they might trade you or cut you.”
“And that’s a really hard thing to reconcile as a player, but the sooner the guys can recognize it, the better. Especially if you’ve never been traded, that first one is weird and difficult. I can speak from experience.”
Kuminga’s bad luck
Kerr tried his best to keep Kuminga in the team’s plans, giving him multiple opportunities as a starter, and the young forward initially thrived in that role. But just like last season, he suffered an untimely injury while on a strong run, and his replacements eventually earned a larger share of the minutes.
When Kuminga started at the beginning of the season, he averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 45.5 percent from the field over his first 13 games. He later lost the starting role and averaged 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, while shooting just 30.0 percent from the field in the final four games he played.