Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has benched Jonathan Kuminga for each of their last two games, and he is now being ripped for it by some former NBA players. Kuminga was DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) against the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Theo Pinson was up in arms about it on his To The Baha podcast.
“You don’t just DNP $25 million,” Pinson said. “… DNP. No one saying drop minutes. Did not participate is different from getting your minutes cut, Hong. You’re not minutes cutting $25 million.”
The Warriors had signed Kuminga to a two-year, $46.8 million extension after long, drawn-out negotiations in the summer. It seemed like all was well in the beginning, as he started the first 12 games, but things went south after that.
Kuminga lost his spot in the lineup in the 13th game against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 12, and he ended up exiting that contest with a knee injury. That problem kept him out for seven games, and his playing time had gone down when he returned.
Kuminga had averaged 19.3 minutes per game in his last four outings before Kerr decided not to play him at all against the Bulls and Timberwolves. Co-host Raymond Felton believes there is no way the 23-year-old can’t get into the game at all, considering the roster that the Warriors have.
Kameron Wilkerson, another co-host, reckons something has had to have happened behind the scenes, but Pinson pointed out that no report has ever come out about Kuminga causing issues in that locker room.
“Have you seen one report of Kuminga being detrimental at all since he’s been in Golden State?” Pinson asked. “… That is what I’m talking about as the persona that Steve Kerr is putting out on this man. If something has happened, we haven’t heard about it. So, you can’t sit here and put that narrative on Jonathan Kuminga.”
Felton is of the opinion that this is all down to Kerr having a personal problem with Kuminga. He also appears to think the race angle is involved here.
“I have played for coaches who are like this,” Felton stated. “When you got something personal towards a player, you can say whatever you want to say in the media, but the s*** shows. The s*** show how you treat them on the court, that’s what it is. He DNPs [Moses] Moody and Kuminga, but he don’t DNP [Brandin Podziemski].”
In response, co-host Charlie Villanueva offered to be Felton’s translator.
“Let me translate what Ray is saying, ‘He DNPs the n****s, and he don’t the White men,'” Villanueva said.
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Considering no players who have actually played for Kerr have ever even hinted that he is a racist, this is absurd. These are not suggestions that should be made lightly.
The biggest issue that Kerr appears to have with Kuminga is the lack of consistency. As things stand, a break-up is looking more and more likely.
We came up with eight stars the Warriors could acquire with a package centered around Kuminga. Any of these moves could potentially help turn their season around.
The Warriors are currently eighth in the West with a 13-13 record. They had title aspirations coming into the campaign, but certainly aren’t looking like contenders right now.
